In recent head-to-head matches, the task has become trickier for Stuttgart, with Bremen winning 2-1 in Swabia in April and picking up three wins from their last five league encounters. Most of the games were close and ended with fewer than four goals, which further increases the importance of every single goal this Sunday. Bremen are coming off a 3-2 defeat in the northern derby in Hamburg, where Stage gave them the lead and Njinmah scored, but late defensive lapses cost them the win, so a victory in their last five league games speaks for itself and the attack remains heavily reliant on midfielders, as strikers Topp and the currently injured Boniface have yet to score in the Bundesliga. Bittencourt’s announced summer departure underscores that Steffen is steering a team through a transitional phase. On the other hand, Stuttgart’s form is harder to gauge. In the league, they are coming off a humiliating 5-0 defeat at Bayern that put a damper on their run, but in Europe they swept aside Maccabi Tel Aviv 4-1 in a game with high security measures that brought them closer to the knockout stages of the Europa League, and Undav’s recent run of inventive league goals means Hoeneß continues to have a real fixture up front.
- Venue: Weserstadion, Bremen
- Date and time: December 14, 2025, 7:30 p.m.
- Competition: Bundesliga (Matchday 14)
Our betting tips are based on Stuttgart confirming their status as slight away favorites, currently priced at around 2.3, with Undav leading an attack that scored four goals against Maccabi Tel Aviv, while Bremen’s defense conceded three goals in Hamburg and Weiser is still missing. Interestingly, Stage and Njinmah have shown that they can cause serious problems for opposing defenses, which is why we believe the markets for Both Teams to Score: Yes and Over 3.5 Goals are undervalued, as Bremen’s offensive threat is still underestimated in the betting market.
Werder Form & Record Check
Werder are coming into this phase of the season with an inconsistent league record. One win, two draws, and two defeats from their last five Bundesliga games have seen them drop from ninth place before the northern derby to 12th in the table with 16 points, level on points with Mönchengladbach and only one point ahead of Hamburg, meaning that their cushion in the relegation battle already looks thin. The recent 3-2 win in Hamburg sums up the current contradictions well. Stage ensured a quiet first half and a deserved 1-0 lead at the break, Njinmah came on and made it 2-2, but in the end Werder went home empty-handed despite two away goals because they defended chaotically from set pieces and crosses. Previously, a laborious 1-1 draw at home against Cologne and a subdued 2-0 defeat in Leipzig had shown how quickly their tempo drops. At the Weserstadion, a 2-1 win against Wolfsburg and the draw against Cologne provided some stability, while the 1-1 draw in Mainz away from home seemed more pragmatic than ambitious. It is striking that all of their last five league games before the break were close, often with first halves of less than 1.5 goals, but all games ended with at least two goals and Bremen conceded goals in each.
Steffen’s attack continues to rely heavily on midfielders, Stage has already scored four league goals, Njinmah makes an impact off the bench with his pace, while center forwards Topp and the currently injured Boniface are still waiting for their first Bundesliga goals. With creative veteran Bittencourt marginalized and set to leave the club in the summer, and key defenders such as Weiser, Agu, and Wöber out of action, the team as a whole looks like a side in the midst of rebuilding.
Werder are expected to line up in their usual 4-2-3-1 formation in our predicted starting eleven, with Backhaus in goal behind a back four of Sugawara, Pieper, Coulibaly, and Friedl. In the center, Lynen and Stage form the double six, with Stage pushing forward from midfield and remaining their most dangerous goal threat in the league, while Puertas, Schmid, and Grüll support Topp in attack. Friedl and Grüll are each one yellow card away from suspension, which could influence how aggressively they play in tackles.
With Wöber and Agu missing, Steffen’s defensive options are reduced, and Weiser is also out on the right side of defense, so Sugawara takes on that role in our predicted lineup. Boniface and Musah are still missing in attack, so in this scenario, Topp will once again lead the line, while Njinmah, who scored in Hamburg, is more likely to come off the bench than start. This is clearly a probable lineup and not a confirmed starting XI.
Stuttgart Form & Record Check
VfB Stuttgart come to Bremen with a strange mixture of stability and turbulence. They are sixth in the Bundesliga with 22 points, wedged between Hoffenheim and Eintracht Frankfurt, each only one point behind, and despite everything, with a negative goal difference. For a team that lost Nick Woltemade to Newcastle in the summer, this level of performance is largely as expected, if not slightly above. In all competitions, the last five games have brought three wins and two defeats, with notable successes in Europe with a 4-0 win at Go Ahead Eagles and a 4-1 win at home against Maccabi Tel Aviv, a result that pushed them towards the Europa League round of 16. added to that was a controlled 2-0 win in the cup in Bochum, while on the other hand there was a 2-1 defeat in Hamburg and a brutal 5-0 defeat at home to Bayern.
In the league alone, the trend is less flattering, with one win, one draw, and three defeats in the last five games, including five goals conceded against Bayern, two in Hamburg, and three in the 3-3 draw in Dortmund, suggesting that the defense, weakened by the injuries to Zagadou and Jaquez, is still searching for balance and leaving games open for too long. Offensively, however, Stuttgart remain dangerous and at times very entertaining to watch. Deniz Undav has scored the club’s last six Bundesliga goals, seven in total this season, and is joint third in the scoring charts, an atypical number nine, more of an instinctive player than a classic target man, who often seems even livelier after the break, as evidenced by the fact that Stuttgart have scored in the second half in four of their last five games.
In the high-risk 4-1 win over Maccabi Tel Aviv, Hoeneß’s offensive approach was clearly evident, with fullbacks Assignon, Mittelstädt, and substitute Vagnoman all getting on the scoresheet or providing assists. Stuttgart’s last five games have each produced at least two goals, and in four of them, two or more were scored in the second half alone, meaning that games often open up late, which fits in well with the club’s plans to sign a new striker and a creative midfielder in January.
Stuttgart are expected to stick with their familiar 4-2-3-1 formation under Hoeneß, so our predicted line-up sees Nübel in goal behind a back four of Assignon, Jeltsch, Chabot, and Mittelstädt. Karazor and Stiller should form the double six, with Leweling, El Khannouss, and Führich supporting Undav, whose excellent form in the league in recent weeks makes him the clear favorite for a starting spot in attack. This remains a predicted starting lineup and is not yet confirmed.
In defense, the injury-related absences of Jaquez and Zagadou, as well as several options not eligible for the Europa League, such as Al-Dakhil, Stergiou, and Stenzel, reinforce this prediction for the back four. Further forward, the unavailability of Demirovic and Silas for European games means that the attacking depth will mainly come from Bouanani and Tomás, while Hendriks and Vagnoman are considered the primary alternatives should Hoeneß decide to reshuffle his defense.
Werder – Stuttgart Head-to-head comparison & statistics
SV Werder Bremen has the upper hand in the last five meetings between these teams, with three wins, one draw, and one defeat. The most recent encounter in April 2025 ended 2-1 for Bremen in Stuttgart, crowning a series that has earned Bremen seven out of a possible nine points in this duel since the beginning of 2024.
The results have been consistently close, with Bremen scoring eight goals and Stuttgart six across these five games, and only one game decided by more than two goals. Each encounter exceeded the two-goal mark, yet four of the five games ended with three goals or fewer, open but not chaotic.
Both sides usually find a way to score, with Bremen and Stuttgart each failing to score only once during this period, and in three of the five games both teams scored. There is a clear streak of five games with at least two goals in total, while the last three encounters all had first halves in which fewer than two goals were scored.
The momentum in this duel currently favors Bremen, Stuttgart’s only win during this period dates back to 2023, a 2-0 home victory, and since then Bremen has been unbeaten in three consecutive head-to-head matches. With Bremen picking up four points from their last two home games in 2024 and 2025, the psychological advantage now seems to be slightly on their side.
