Werder Bremen – 1. FC Köln
The top match of the Bundesliga took us to the Ruhrpott in the previous week. This Saturday, however, football Germany looks to the far north of the republic. Although this match is formally labelled “Topspiel”, two teams will meet that have not been in particularly good form so far. In our Bremen – Cologne tip, you can find out who will be in better form on Saturday.
The hosts from Bremen are lagging a little behind their expectations so far and are in twelfth place with three points before Matchday 4. SVW lost 4-2 at Heidenheim last Sunday, while Cologne also suffered a defeat at home to Hoffenheim. With only one point, FC is currently in the relegation zone.
But the history in Bremen doesn’t give the Geißböcken much hope either. In contrast to almost all other Bundesliga teams, Cologne suffered the highest number of away defeats in the league not at FC Bayern, but in Bremen, where the Cathedral City side were defeated a total of 29 times.
Bremen – Cologne info:
- Date & Time: 23.09.2023, 18:30 Uhr
- Game venue: Wohninvest-Weserstadion, Bremen
- Competition: Bundesliga, Matchday 5
- TV broadcast: Sky
Bremen Form & Balance Check
Although the second half of the season was disappointing for Werder Bremen last season and they only managed four wins, the SVW eventually secured their place in the league in 13th place in a commanding manner. However, the start to the new season in the DFB Cup went anything but as planned, as the northern Germans lost 3-2 to third-division side Viktoria Köln.
And things also went rather less well for the North Germans at the start of the league season. SVW suffered two defeats against Bayern and Freiburg at the start of the season. The brief rise in form in the home win against Mainz then ended promptly after the international break, however, when Bremen lost 4-2 at Heidenheim last Sunday.
Woltemade seizes the chance
The main scorers for SVW in the past season were top strikers Niclas Füllkrug and Marvin Duksch, who together scored a total of 28 goals in the league. However, the German international Füllkrug now plays for Borussia Dortmund, which means that there will be even more expectations on Marvin Duksch in the new season.
But in recent weeks, one man has been playing himself more and more into the focus, whom only very few had on their minds. Nick Woltemade comes from our own youth team and celebrated his breakthrough during his loan spell in the 3rd division with Elversberg last year. There, the 21-year-old played 31 league games with a total of ten goals and nine assists. The young striker has now also impressed in the German top flight, especially as a target player.
Bremen facts & analysis
- Placed 13th in the league in pre-season.
- Placed 12th in the league
- Lost 2:4 against Heidenheim in the previous week
Cologne Form & Balance Check
The last two years, 1. FC Köln with coach Steffen Baumgart had nothing to do with relegation. This is particularly surprising, as the Geißböcke squad was not one of the hottest in the league on paper. And this year, too, the Geißböcke’ only goal is to stay in the German top flight.
However, the Cathedral City team would certainly have imagined a different start to the season. Despite a difficult opening programme, the billy goats have sold themselves short with only one point earned so far. Even in the 3-1 defeat to Hoffenheim the previous week, the FC could have done better.
Schwäbe in the box
For two years now, Marvin Schwäbe has been the regular goalkeeper for the Geißböcken from Cologne. Last season, the Dieburg native went six games without conceding a goal and played all 34 games in the Bundesliga. His sometimes outstanding performances have now even aroused the interest of the national team.
This season, the 28-year-old former Dresden goalkeeper is once again the undisputed regular goalkeeper at FC Köln. So far this season, however, he has not yet finished a game without conceding a goal. Schwäbe also looked somewhat unfortunate in the 0:2 loss to Heidenheim. Against Bremen, the goalkeeper now wants to show his full strength again.
Cologne facts & analysis
- Placed 11th in the league in pre-season.
- Lost 1:3 against Hoffenheim in their last match
- Placed 16th in the league
Predicted line-up – last update on 21 September 2023
Bremen will also start against 1. FC Köln with a 3-1-4-2. Jung and Friedl will probably be out of the starting eleven for the time being after their poor performance. Young Nick Woltemade, on the other hand, was quite respectable in attack.
On the other side, we expect Cologne to start in a 4-2-3-1, with Davie Selke looking to create a scoring threat in the centre of the attack against his former club. The Dane Jacob Christensen, on the other hand, is suspended for the Geißböcken
Bremen – Cologne direct comparison & Statistics
The performance record of the two teams so far is very balanced. They have faced each other in a total of 108 competitive matches. FC won 39 games, Werder Bremen also 39 games, and in 30 encounters there was no winner. In the season before last, both matches between the teams ended in a 1-1 draw. And in the duel on matchday 33 of last season, the result was the same.
- Cologne’s last win in Bremen was on 24/10/2014.
- There has been no away win in the past 13 meetings between these two teams.
- When Bremen lead 1-0 in home games, they win 69% of matches
