Match Preview: Dortmund Face Werder Bremen in Need of Three Points

Borussia Dortmund enters Sunday’s game with a chance to break back into the Champions League race. Next season’s BVB manager Marco Rose endeared himself to his future team by leading his Gladbach side to a 4 - 0 victory over fourth-place Eintracht Frankfurt. Third-Place VFL Wolfsburg also lost this weekend at the hands of Bayern Munich. These results give Dortmund the opportunity to draw within 5 points of third-place with a win against Werder Bremen.

Bremen have run into a particularly rough part of their schedule heading into tomorrow’s match. The former Bundesliga champions have lost their last four games in the league, but three of those losses came against top-four opponents. For Dortmund, now seems like an opportune time to face the green and whites, but Florian Kohfelt’s side has made a habit of upsetting the black and yellows recently. They’ve knocked BVB out of the last two DFB Pokals, so it would come as no surprise if Werder gives Dortmund some trouble on Sunday.

How Will Dortmund Lineup?

Despite losing on Wednesday against Manchester City, it seems unlikely that Edin Terzic will change anything about the squad this weekend. In the absence of Jadon Sancho, Ansgar Knauff has established himself as a legitimate option on the wings for BVB. After starting both matches versus City, it seems logical that Terzic will give him his first Bundesliga start against Werder. His defensive contribution and speed on the wings will provide Dortmund extra coverage against potential counter-attacks. He also seems to be in better attacking form than his alternatives after scoring his first league goal just a week ago against Stuttgart.

With Thomas Delaney out injured, a change to Dortmund’s midfield three would take quite the tactical shift. Though Emre Can has disappointed over the last few weeks, his only viable replacement in the squad right now would be the just as out of form Julian Brandt. Subbing in Brandt would leave BVB much more susceptible to counters, and quite frankly, it doesn’t seem like a logical risk to take. Can has made some bad mistakes recently, but he should have slightly more time on the ball against Werder, which will hopefully lead to fewer mistakes.

Prediction

This should be a great opportunity for Borussia Dortmund to rebound after getting knocked out of the Champions League earlier this week. Werder Bremen are lacking confidence at the moment and BVB should be able to use that to their advantage. If Dortmund get an early goal, a win is almost certainly on the cards. Having said all that, it is becoming a yearly tradition for Bremen to crush the hopes and dreams of all Dortmund fans, so let’s just throw recent form out the window and hope for a win.