Bayer Leverkusen vs. Werder Bremen – Bundesliga Preview
2010/11 Bundesliga runners-up, Bayer Leverkusen, will host Werder Bremen in what is anticipated to be a mouthwatering affair between the two sides. The Werkself are fresh from an opening week defeat to http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/1-FSV-Mainz-05-c38166 while Bremen won their first game against
FC Kaiserslautern.
The two sides will go into the match, scheduled for kick-off at BayArena on Sunday, August 14, on even terms.
Bayer Leverkusen
Robin Dutt’s side will go into the game under immense pressure after losing their opening game away from home. Leverkusen lost to Mainz last Saturday and both goals resulted from mistakes by the Werkself players.
It was goalkeeper Fabian Giefer’s howler that lead to the Mainz first goal while the second was an own goal. The manager would want his side to get back to their normal self and register the first points on the table. Leverkusen also failed to score in that
game and will also be hoping to score their first goal of the new campaign.
Werder Bremen
The River Islanders will go into this game with the ambition of extending their winning run. Bremen coach Thomas Schaaf would want his troops to continue with the same kind of momentum and register their first win of the season away from home. The visitors
did not concede a single goal on Saturday and the manager would hope that his defence could once again stay firm, this time against the Werkself.
Team News
Bayer Leverkusen
The Werkself will go in with a 5-4-1 formation. Eren Derdiyok will be starting upfront as a lone striker. Leverkusen will hand over the club debut to goalkeeper Bernd Leno in the absence of number one choice Rene Adler. Stand-in goalie, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Fabian-Giefer-c13104, got
injured in the game against Mainz and has been ruled out for up to two weeks. Leno made his way to the BayArena from http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/VfB-Stuttgart-c40879 and seems all set to guard the home side’s net.
Werder Bremen
The visitors are expected to adapt a 5-3-2 strategy. Markus Rosenberg and Lennart Thy are set to form a strike partnership in the middle. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Per-Mertesacker-c29680, will also be starting in his usual defensive position.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Sandro-Wagner-c32482 will once again be starting on the bench as he did in the 2-0 win over Kaiserslautern.
Players to Watch
Leverkusen will count on the skills of Andre Schurrle who also scored in Germany’s 3-2 win over http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Brazil-c2858. The striker failed to impress against Mainz and will be itching to get off the mark for his new club. The 20-year-old German joined the Werkself during
this summer after spending two years with FSV Mainz, netting 20 times during his stay at the club.
Werder Bremen, on the other hand, will definitely be expecting Markus Rosenberg to repeat the same feat he achieved against Kaiserslautern in the club’s opening game. The striker scored both goals in space of 21 minutes that led his side to an impressive
win. The Swede will also be hoping to continue his goalscoring form and follow in the boots of last year’s top goalscorer, Mario Gomez.
Prediction
Both sides are evenly matched and are expected to put up a solid fight on Sunday. Even though Leverkusen are at home, the current form doesn’t give them an advantage over their opponents. The two sides are likely to play out a 1-1 draw.
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