Naldo had orthopedic tape on his knee at Friday afternoon’s final training, but the Brazilian centre back quickly said there was no cause for concern. "I still have a little bit of pain in my knee. But I will definitely play on Saturday in the North Derby," said Naldo.

That means that Naldo will likely once again build Werder’s interior defence with Per Mertesacker during the derby. Naldo has been one of the stalwarts of Bremen’s backline since his transfer to the Green-Whites. Since arriving before the 2005-06 season, Naldo has played in 154 of 169 possible Bundesliga matches. He will not want to miss the big match against Hamburg. "The game on Saturday is extremely important for us. Not only because it’s the North Derby, but also because we absolutely want to get to the Champions League!" underlined Naldo the meaning of the game on Saturday.

With Naldo able to play, the Bremen coaching staff will have the complete roster available other than backup goalkeeper Christian Vander for the game against Hamburg. Sandro Wagner and Sebastian Mielitz will gain more game practice with the U23 team.

The following players were nominated by head coach Thomas Schaaf: Wiese, Wiedwald, Naldo, Mertesacker, Pasanen, Fritz, Boenisch, Prödl, Frings, Özil, Bargfrede, Marin, Hunt, Almeida, Pizarro, Jensen, Rosenberg, Borow