Not your typical third-division side | OneFootball

SVW will come up against Arminia Bielefeld on Tuesday evening (Photo: W.DE).

Preview ahead of cup quarter-final against Arminia Bielefeld

SV Werder Bremen travel to take on Arminia Bielefeld on Tuesday evening (25th February, 20:45 CET), with a spot in the semi-finals of the DFB-Pokal on the line. The last time SVW progressed to the semis was in 2020/21 against RB Leipzig, and the Green-Whites have their sights set on sealing their progression.

Team news: Marco Friedl is still unavailable due to injury. Head coach Ole Werner confirmed that every other player is fit to feature, meaning that Milos Veljkovic and Keke Topp will also be options to make the matchday squad.

Ole Werner on the opponent: "Bielefeld made life tough for the other Bundesliga sides they've come up against by being extremely aggressive against the ball. They aren't your typical third-division side that rely on only their physicality to get by. They are a well-structured team. We're been able to form a good understanding of our opponents. It's a bit of a different process compared to our weekly schedule in the league, but they have a knack for making things tough for their opponents."

Ending Bielefeld's run

Ducksch scored the winning goal for Werder in the second round (Photo: W.DE).

Previous meetings: The two teams have met a total of 35 times, with SVW winning 21 of these encounters to Bielefeld's ten. However, it's been a couple of years since these two teams last faced each other. Werder won 2-0 in Bielefeld in March 2021 thanks to goals from Josh Sargent and Kevin Möhwald. Four players who started back then are still currently playing for the Green-Whites.

Knocked out two Bundesliga sides already: Bielefeld faced stiff competition on their way to the quarter-finals, coming up against second-division side Hannover 96 in the opening round (2-0). They then hosted Bundesliga outfit 1. FC Union Berlin in the second round, beating them 2-0 to become the only third-division side left in this season's competition. A 3-1 win against SC Freiburg in the round of 16 then followed, setting up a quarter-final clash with SV Werder.