Kevin De Bruyne has twice missed out on playing against his former SV Werder Bremen colleagues. The Belgian international was suspended last March and he was nursing a minor injury in September. On Sunday, however, he will return when SVW host VfL Wolfsburg in the Weser Stadium on Bundesliga matchday 23.

"I'm looking forward to it. To return to Bremen, the stadium and see the Werder fans again," Wolfsburg's playmaker told WERDER.DE. But De Bruyne does not view the encounter as a special game: "At the end of the day, even if our opponent is Werder Bremen, we are playing for three points. Therefore I look at it just like any other Bundesliga game." The attacking midfielder had a great impact on Werder's attacking game in the 2012/13 season, scoring ten goals and supplying ten assists. His quality was soon recognised and Chelsea FC opted to bring De Bruyne back to Stamford Bridge following his loan spell at Werder. He returned to the Bundesliga in January 2014 after signing a deal with Wolfsburg.

De Bruyne has lasting memories of the SVW fans: "We had great support, especially in our home games, even though we didn't always manage to get the desired results." But De Bruyne doesn't just cherish his relationship with the fans from his time at Werder: "I had a very good year in Bremen with regards to my personal development. I was able to get regular match time in one of Europe's top leagues for the first time in my career and I think that my personal stats from that time are decent," explained the 23-year-old. "Obviously I would've liked to have finished in a better position in the standings than we did."

After not playing as much as he wanted during his first six months back in the Premier League, De Bruyne joined Wolfsburg in the winter transfer window of the 2013/14 campaign. Things are going well for him and his new club. They are second in the Bundesliga and still competing in both the German Cup and UEFA Europa League. De Bruyne's eight goals and twelve assists make him one of the top points-scorers in the league this season. "We have done well so far and we want to keep it that way. Qualifying for next season's Champions League campaign is our clear goal now. Furthermore we would like to go as far as possible in the DFB Cup and Europa League."

The 24-times capped Belgian international has an aura of perfectionism around him when he talks about his own performances. "I've always wanted to improve gradually but consistently. There are still details that I can work on." There hasn't been a great amount of contact between him and his former SVW colleagues, but he has noticed Bremen's development. "Werder took a good step forward during the winter break. We only just won against them earlier this season and I doubt that it will be any easier this time around," predicted De Bruyne.

The game on Sunday (March 1st, 17:30 CET) features the two teams which have made the best start to 2015. Wolfsburg play Sporting Lisbon in the Europa League on Thursday before making the trip to the Weser. Let's hope that De Bruyne comes out unscathed, as Werder fans are eagerly anticipating his return.