Time to buck the trend

Köln preview
Photo by nordphoto.
preliminary report
Thursday, 19.12.2019 / 18:02

After a miserable week for SV Werder Bremen there are little to no positives to speak of in the build up for Saturday’s game. The defeats have been addressed, digested and analysed – in the end, the only thing left to do is focus on what lies ahead. With a newfound courage and clear heads, the Green-Whites want to put an end to the misery and end the calendar year on a high. Standing in their way of this early Christmas present: 90 minutes against a team in direct competition with Werder to avoid the relegation zone. "We don’t want to mess about, we want to attack their goal and give ourselves this win," said Florian Kohfeldt.  

Personnel: Philipp Bargfrede could be returning just in time for Saturday’s encounter with Köln. "It’s looking good for Bargi," said Florian Kohfeldt at the press conference. The same is true for Sebastian Langkamp, who has recovered from his back problems and has made himself an option over the past few training sessions. Leonardo Bittencourt will serve his one-match suspension following his fifth yellow card of the season. Aside from that, there are no squad-related surprises updates in the Werder camp.

"Graft, scrap and battle!"

Florian Kohfeldt wants a different kind of approach on Saturday (nordphoto).

The head coach on the game: The recent results have left SV Werder in the thick of a relegation battle. The new situation in the table does not necessarily require a different kind of football, but Florian Kohfeldt would like to start ringing in some changes. "You have to think very carefully about what this specific game requires. It would be naive to think that we can just carry on playing the same kind of combinations as last season," explained the head coach. It’s all about grafting, scrapping and fighting. Especially when strikers like Cordoba, Modeste and Terodde start attacking, the Green-Whites can expect a physical battle: "We can’t sit and wait for the ball to come to us. We have to be ambitious going forward without any messing about," said Kohfeldt. 

 

Reunion with Kainz

Milos Veljkovics scored his first Bundesliga goal against Köln (nordphoto).

The last encounter: Werder and Köln’s last meeting is quite a while back due to Köln’s temporary absence from the top flight last season. Werder’s last encounter with the Cologne side was in March 2018. A 3-1 win for SVW gave them some breathing space at the bottom of the table and kick-started a good run of form. Milos Veljkovic and Milot Rachica celebrated their first Bundesliga goals and joined Maxi Eggestein on the scoresheet. 

Old acquaintance: Saturday’s game against 1. FC Köln will be a first reunion for Florian Kohfledt’s men with former Werder man Florian Kainz. The Austrian, who scored eight goals in 59 Bundesliga games for the Green-Whites, moved to second tier Köln during the 2018/19 winter break. 

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