After the last international break of the calendar year, SV Werder will hope the close out 2024 strongly across their final six competitive matches before the winter break. Head coach Ole Werner’s side kick things off away to Eintracht Frankfurt in the Saturday evening prime time slot, 23/11/2024 (18:30 CET). In his press conference, the 36-year-old spoke about his views on the in-form Eagles and the streak that could be broken against fellow coach Dino Toppmöller.
Ole Werner knows that a mammoth task awaits the Green-Whites away to Frankfurt Eintracht, who are unbeaten in six games and have recorded their best start to the season in twelve years. The head coach is remaining focused on his own side’s strengths, however. “We know how tough this challenge will be, but we also have belief in ourselves because we haven’t made a bad start to the season either. That is something we want to build on. We have proven that we can pull off a surprise result. It is important that we can defend against their incredible pace while also preventing them from getting into advanced situations in the first place.”
One of the pacey opponents will certainly be Omar Marmoush, although his goals are what are so invaluable to Eintracht (11 so far). He has never netted against SVW, though. To ensure success on Saturday evening, Werner warns that attention will not be placed solely on the Egyptian. “Not many clubs have managed to stop him so far. Nevertheless, trying to restrict one player is never usually the way to go. Frankfurt are good all round, even from set pieces. That’s why we can’t just sit back. We also need to get in front of their goal, which has to be our aim.”
Werner’s team has shown on more than one occasion so far this season that Green-Whites know how to impress, especially with their effectiveness and strength away from home. The coach sees this is “a good development that we have made and one we want to continue.” One of the main weapons could be quality off the bench, which has recently proven effective, as the 2-1 home win against Kiel clearly demonstrated – Keke Topp provided the assist for match-winner Oliver Burke. “We have more than eleven players who deserve to be in the starting line-up. We try to pick the best team we can while keeping a strong bench because, as is clear from recent games, those players can make all the difference.”
????️ Werner on the approach: "Frankfurt are strong in the final third and from set pieces. That's why we can't just defend deep. It's important for us to defend well in that area of the pitch. As soon as we're putting pressure on the ball, we need to make sure to remain compact." #werder #SGESVW
— SV Werder Bremen EN (@en.werder.de) 21 November 2024 at 13:54
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The kind of day it is and the effectiveness of substitutes could make all the difference in determining which streak involving head coaches Ole Werner and Dino Toppmöller is broken. Both coaches cancelled each other out last season, drawing twice (2-2 and 1-1), meaning they are each still unbeaten against the other but also remain winless. “Dino and I get on well, having completed our coaching course together. He’s doing a good job in his second year at Frankfurt, but I’d still like to give him a run for his money. Let’s see if we can do just that and which streak is going to be broken.”
