The new Bundesliga season starts with a battle of the green-and-white northern clubs on Saturday 6 August (kick-off 15:30 CEST) as Niko Kovac’s side host promoted Bremen.
The Wolves have won the last three meetings between the two sides – including a 5-3 victory in the previous home match – which saw them take a narrow lead in the overall head-to-head record. In 48 Bundesliga encounters, the Wolves have won 20 and Bremen 19.
More facts and figures
Goals aplenty: In those 48 meetings in the top flight, 171 goals have been scored – an average of 3.6 per game. In addition, VfL have registered more Bundesliga goals against Bremen than against anyone else (86), but have also conceded 85. These stats suggest there should be a goal celebration or two on Saturday.
Immediate Bundesliga return: Like they did when they were first relegated from the Bundesliga in 1980, Werder Bremen, one of the league’s founding members, have been promoted back to the top flight at the first time of asking. This will be the club’s 58th Bundesliga season – only Bayern Munich have competed in as many campaigns.
Bremen with momentum: Werder registered the most shots on goal in Bundesliga 2 in 2021/22 (570) and conceded the fewest (386).
Reliable source of goals: Werder’s strike duo of Marvin Ducksch (20) and Niclas Füllkrug (19) accounted for 39 of Bremen’s 65 goals last term.
Familiar with both clubs: VfL forward Max Kruse played for Werder Bremen from 2006 to 2009 and again from 2016 to 2019, providing 35 goals and 31 assists in 94 appearances in all competitions. Kruse’s record for the Wolves, where he’s also in his second spell having spent the 2015/16 campaign here, reads 57 games, 16 goals and 13 assists.
One debut, one comeback for coaches: Ole Werner, the youngest current Bundesliga coach at the age of 34, collected a phenomenal 43 points in 19 matches with Bremen in the second tier last season. Niko Kovac, meanwhile, is making his comeback as a Bundesliga boss following spells at Eintracht Frankfurt, Bayern Munich as well as AS Monaco.
