Werder Bremen have offered a mixed bag this season, but existential angst has been blessedly far away. They've had their highs and their lows, but, despite a  minor crisis of four consecutive losses in February have never really been in relegation danger, and have never  left the spots between seventh and thirteenth.

So, although they fell to third division side, Arminia Bielefeld, in the DFB Pokal (and who hasn't?), the season on the banks of the Weser has been comparatively successful already and a good end of the season could well mean European football for the first time since 2009/10.

Key players in the Werner squad are striker Marvin Ducksch, who, together with midfield engine Jens Stage, not only lead the scoring list (both with seven goals) but also winger Mitchell Weiser. The former German U21 national player has so far provided eight assists and embodies Werder's danger from the flanks. No other team in the league has scored more goals from crosses.

In addition to a home hammering for Union in the 2009/10 DFB Pokal Union and Bremen have met  nine times in the top flight. Of these, Union have won six, including the last three matches at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei (2-1, 1-0, and 3-1). Werder, on the other hand, have won three times, but still have the worst record in the league against Union with a 67% loss rate. 

Kevin Vogt is the only active player this weekend who faces his former employer. During the second half of the 2019/20 season, he wore the Werder shirt for six months.

On the Bremen side, however, Patrick Kohlmann is still part of the coaching team under Ole Werner. The former full-back, who played for Union from 2008 to 2014, has been an assistant coach at Werder since 2021. 

Union's coaching staff must do without Aljoscha Kemlein, Robert Skov, Jerome Roussillon, Josip Juranovic, Wooyeong Jeong, and Diogo Leite for the match.

„We must expect a team that still want to reach European competition," said Union's head coach, Steffen Baumgart, during his press conference on Thursday afternoon. "Werder have remained largely together in recent years and therefore have very good processes. Even though they had a short run where they were not successful, they quickly pulled themselves out of it and are currently the form team in the Bundesliga  for a reason. We want to win the ball well, attack quickly, and use the things we've worked on, on the pitch. Both teams will go to the maximum to make the game successful." 

"The game will be similar to the matches against Bochum and St. Pauli," said his opposite number, Werner, meanwhile." Two defensively stable teams will face each other. Union have returned to their strengths: deep defending and quick transitions. We need to be solid defensively, remain patient, and be effective." 

As usual, the Stadion An der Alten Försterei's gates open two hours before kick off. The match is sold out in both the home and away sections. 

There are still extensive traffic disruptions in public transport, and access via the tram lines "Altstadt Köpenick" is only possible with the rail replacement service. In addition, the road bridge over the intersection of Edisonstraße/Treskowallee is closed. Therefore, all visitors are advised to arrive early.