Werder Bremen vs Schalke 04 09/03/19

09 March 2019

The Europa League promotion contestants and the Bundesliga relegation fighters go toe-to-toe at the Weserstadion as out-of-form Werder Bremen tackle a struggling Schalke 04 side.

Although unbeaten in their last seven Bundesliga clashes, the hosts have achieved just two triumphs in that period while being held to five draws, with four of them ending with the same 1-1 scoreline. Currently sitting six points beyond sixth-placed Bayer Leverkusen, Die Werderaner must find a way to bring a three-game BL winless run to an end (D3) to keep up the pace with the Company XI. A slow start to the match certainly worries Florian Kohfeldt considering his players scored just two of 22 home goals inside the opening 15 minutes, allowing their rivals to take the lead in five of their last eight BL home outings. Additionally, only three teams have conceded fewer goals at home than Die Grün-Weißen (19) with Werder barely preserving two clean slates in 12 BL meetings at the Weserstadion this term.

A disastrous haul of one point in their last five Bundesliga fixtures currently puts the visitors just four points clear of the relegation territory. Going through by far the most challenging period of the ongoing campaign, the Miners have notched only one goal in five of their previous BL clashes, allowing 2+ match goals four times in the process. Unsurprisingly, Die Königsblauen are experiencing immense problems playing away from home. Not only they’ve lost two consecutive BL road games in the build-up to this meeting, but Domenico Tedesco’s men are still searching for their elusive first away victory in 2019. Maybe the only thing that can encourage Schalke manager is that the Gelsenkirchen outfit picked up three wins on their last four visits to the Weserstadion (W3, L1).