Pre-Match Report
Borussia have picked up points in Bremen every time since 2015
The scenario: 15th against second. Werder’s survival was confirmed a week ago, as was Borussia’s runners-up spot. BVB could still reach 71 or 73 points, which would be their best points tally in seven years (they accumulated 76 in 2018/19).
Home/away: Bremen's negative home record stands at five wins, four draws and seven defeats, with only four teams having a worse home record. They have lost three and won one of their last four matches at the Weserstadion. If BVB end the season with an away win, it would be their most successful away campaign since 2019/20 (33 points then, currently 29).
Head-to-head: Borussia Dortmund have lost just one of their last 11 Bundesliga matches against Werder Bremen, won six of the last seven, and have beaten only Frankfurt more often (51 times) than Werder (49 times) in their Bundesliga history. Having said this, the only team they have lost more to than Bremen (42) is Bayern Munich (54). In the last 24 encounters, Borussia have never failed to score (the last time was in May 2011 in a 0-2 defeat in Bremen). Dortmund have won more often in Stuttgart (17 wins) than in Bremen (15). The last time they walked off the pitch as losers in a Bundesliga match was in December 2014 at the Weserstadion.
Statistics: No centre-back pairing has scored more than the combined ten goals of Ramy Bensebaini and Nico Schlotterbeck this Bundesliga season. Schlotterbeck scored the crucial goal to make it 2-1 against Frankfurt last week, meaning his tally of five goals this season is a new personal best. One of those came in the 3-0 victory against Bremen in the first half of the season, when he headed his team into a 1-0 lead. Bremen’s strikers have scored a total of nine goals this season, while the midfielders have netted 24.
Reverse fixture: The fact that the match on 13 January, which was played in front of a sold-out crowd, turned out in Dortmund's favour was down to two factors. Firstly, a strong performance from goalkeeper Gregor Kobel, who reacted quickly to thwart Bremen’s only two chances of the entire game in the opening 18 minutes. And secondly, there was a tactical masterstroke by the manager, who changed the approach after 66 minutes, switching the formation from 3-4-3 to 3-5-2 with the substitutions of Serhou Guirassy and Jobe Bellingham, amongst others. “Following Nico Schlotterbeck’s early opener (11), the crucial goals came from Marcel Sabitzer (76) to make it 2-0 and Serhou Guirassy (83) to seal a 3-0 victory – the latter set up by the pressing Jobe Bellingham.
Last season: In a game with few chances that ended goalless, BVB (4-2 in terms of chances) were slightly closer to scoring than Werder, who were able to play out the closing stages with a numerical advantage. When the agile Karim Adeyemi was brought down as he made a run forward in the 73rd minute, no free-kick was awarded. This led to a Bremen counter-attack, which Nico Schlotterbeck – who had already been booked – stopped with a foul, resulting in a second yellow card and a red card.
Biggest away win: On matchday 18 of the 2012/13 season, BVB triumphed 5-0 at the Weserstadion thanks to goals from Marco Reus (9), Mario Götze (19), Felipe Santana (49), Robert Lewandowski (81) and Jakub Błaszczykowski (85).
Compiled by Boris Rupert