Wolfsburg and Werder Bremen face off in relegation six-pointer
Wolfsburg host Werder Bremen on Saturday in a pivotal relegation six-pointer as the two northern clubs aim to move a step closer to securing their Bundesliga status for another season. Here’s how they compare ahead of the encounter at the Volkswagen Arena…
Visiting Werder finished just one point adrift of sixth place last season - which would have secured them a place in Europe - but have endured a disappointing campaign this time out, sitting 15th with a four-point lead over Saturday’s opponents.
Die Grün-Weißen have collected 25 points after 26 matchdays. Only twice have they picked up fewer points at this stage of the season (1974/75 and 2019/20), although a silver lining is that they managed to remain in Germany’s top flight on both occasions.
In contrast, Wolfsburg’s 21 points at this stage of a campaign is their lowest tally to date. With six defeats in seven Bundesliga games between September and November, Paul Simonis was replaced by Daniel Bauer on an interim basis who, having enjoyed wins over Union Berlin and Borussia Mönchengladbach, was awarded a permanent contract - although his joy was short-lived.
Following their Matchday 25 loss to Hamburg, Bauer was relieved of his duties after eight games without a win and subsequently replaced by Dieter Hecking who - having masterminded a DFB Cup trophy and second-placed Bundesliga finish with the Wolves in 2014/15 - picked up a valuable point against high-flying Hoffenheim on his return to cut the gap to the relegation play-off spot to three points.
Watching: Dieter Hecking's Wolfsburg draw against Hoffenheim
Like Wolfsburg, Bremen themselves had a change at the helm despite looking like European contenders once again after three defeats in their first 10 games placed them four points adrift of sixth place, although they soon went into freefall.
A 1-1 draw with Gladbach - which was the 10th Bundesliga match in a row without a win for Werder - saw Horst Steffen relinquished of his duties with Daniel Thioune the man tasked with securing Bremen’s Bundesliga status.
Coaching in Germany’s top flight for the first time, the former Hamburg and Fortuna Düsseldorf man lost his first three games in charge against Freiburg, Bayern Munich and St. Pauli, but picked up priceless wins against basement dwellers Heidenheim, and Union prior to their 2-0 defeat against fellow strugglers Mainz, placing Werder one point above of the play-off berth with eight games to go.
Watch: Daniel Thioune on joining 'icon' Bremen
Much like the reverse fixture, this upcoming clash is likely to be decided by moments of individual quality. Samuel Mbangula’s stunning volley in November secured a 2-1 comeback win for Werder in the dying embers, and it’ll likely take another moment of brilliance to break the deadlock this time out.
For Wolfsburg, the standout performer is Mohamed Amoura. No player from either side has registered more goal contributions than the Algerian forward, who has struck eight times and provided three assists while outperforming his Expected Goals metric (+6.97).
Far from toothless this term, Wolfsburg have fired off the second-fewest shots on goal across the division after 26 games (284) but they're the ninth-highest scorers with 35 goals - more than any other team in the bottom half while bettering Bremen’s 359 attempts, which have returned 29 goals. Only Heidenheim and Pauli have scored fewer.
Watch: Werder Bremen 2-1 Wolfsburg - highlights
Meanwhile, Thioune will look to Jovan Milošević and Romano Schmid for inspiration. The former has struck two goals in three games under his new coach, but has missed the last two games with a back injury, as he looks to establish himself in the Bundesliga while on loan from VfB Stuttgart.
Schmid is Bremen’s driving force from midfield. No player in Germany’s top flight has contested more duels (609) this term while no Werder player has covered more distance (174.79 miles/ 281.31km) than the Austrian playmaker, who will look to exploit space ahead of Wolfsburg’s leaky defensive line.
For context, only Heidenheim (58) have conceded more than Wolfsburg’s 56 goals in the current campaign - and so it will be up to Konstantinos Koulierakis, Jeanuël Belocian and Moritz Jenz to keep Bremen at bay.
As both teams struggle for consistency, Bremen will need to summon some of that early season form if they’re to pull away from danger this weekend. If their comeback victory earlier in the season is anything to go by, Saturday’s meeting should just be as captivating given that it’s an even record between the two former Bundesliga winners who each have 22 wins and 98 goals in their 55 top-flight clashes.
On the other hand, a first win back at the Volkswagen Arena for Hecking would see Wolfsburg move to within one point of their direct relegation rivals and with northern bragging rights on the line too, it’s all to play for in Saturday’s relegation six-pointer.
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