Werder Bremen and Schalke 04 will meet for the 111th time this weekend. Werder have never beaten any team more times than Saturday’s opponents (47 victories). Win number 48, should it come at the weekend, could prove to be one of the most important. First place host second place at 13:30 CEST on Saturday when the Green and Whites travel to face S04. “Of course we are aware of the league table, but we’re going into the game to win it,” said head coach Ole Werner.
Team news: Werder have had a few setbacks to deal with in the build up to the game. The most recent addition to the injury list is defender Milos Veljkovic, who suffered a calf strain during training on Wednesday. Christian Groß will also be unavailable for the trip to Gelsenkirchen after s positive rapid test result for coronavirus. Captain Ömer Toprak is also still out. Nevertheless, Ole Werner is convinced of the quality of his team. “We want to be brave and bring our quality onto the pitch, with everything that we’ve got,” said the coach.
The head coach on the game: “Schalke’s individual quality is what’s making them successful at the moment. Especially in attack, they have a lot of experience and are consistently at a high level. We’re going up against a strong team and one of our aims will be to prevent the opposition from having too much space. They can’t have the room to demonstrate their quality, so as a team we have to be tight while defending every individual player at the same time. We’ve focused on our defensive behaviours in training and we have to be able to control the opposition and play our own game at the same time. Overall, it’s going to be a difficult task, but one that I’m looking forward to,” said the coach.
The last meeting: Since the 3-1 loss in November 2016, Werder have won all five of their competitive away games against Schalke – against no other opponent do Bremen have a longer away winning spell. The two sides were unable to be split last time they met in the reverse fixture. Simon Terodde’s opener was cancelled out by Niclas Füllkrug.
The league table: Saturday’s game is a top-of-the-table clash in the Bundesliga 2, with first-place Schalke hosting second-place Werder. Two points separate the sides, meaning that the outcome of the game could see a switch in league positions. Werder have a strong record on the road, and sit in third place, level with Schalke, in the away league table.
Comeback kings: Werder Bremen came from behind to draw 1.1 against Nürnberg – their 17th point won from a losing position, a league best. Schalke’s 14 points won from a losing position is third best in the league behind Karlsruhe (15).
Top shooters: Werder and Schalke have averaged the most shots per game in the league so far this season. Schalke average 6.1 shots per game, Werder 5.8. At the other end, Schalke allow an average of 4.0 shots per game – joint with St. Pauli as the league’s best. Werder come in third place with 4.1 shots allowed.
