Werder Bremen vs RB Leipzig preview: A European six-pointer | OneFootball

Werder Bremen

Werder Bremen’s European hopes were dealt a real blow last time out.

On the road against Union Berlin, the Green-White’s took a 2-0 lead early on thanks to a brace from Jens Stage. Things were going well, but the opposition stole one back before the end of the half. Then, with less than 10 minutes to go, substitute Laszlo Benes scored a screamer off the bench to make it 2-2.

At that moment Bremen went from grabbing three points to only keeping one. They did not have enough time left to make their response, and they were forced to settle for a draw.While in most scenarios a tie away to Union wouldn’t be the end of the world, Werder is running out of time to secure points. They go into the weekend three points behind RB Leipzig in the battle for the final European place, and they also have to pass a Mainz team that’s two points ahead of them.

Failing to win either of their last two has taken things out of Bremen’s hands. Not only will they have to win this weekend and likely win again next weekend, they’ll need results elsewhere to go their way.

That’s something to worry about later, though. Die Werderaner still haven’t lost a game since March 15th, and there's still been plenty of promise in some of their performances. They need to finish strong, and they won’t be able to achieve anything unless they secure a win Saturday.

A nice bonus for supporters is that the team will be wearing a special kit for the contest, which is a darker shade of green with copper accents to honor the 60th anniversary of their first Bundesliga championship. Maybe it will be a lucky charm.

Team news

Milos Veljkovic remains a doubt, while Justin Njinmah has picked up a knock and may not feature either.

RB Leipzig

RB Leipzig were involved in one of the games of the season in their last match.

They hosted Bayern Munich, with the latter knowing they would be crowned Bundesliga champions with a win. It didn’t look like Leipzig were going to let that happen. Benjamin Sesko opened the scoring early, and then they doubled their advantage before the half through Lukas Klostermann.

However, Die Roten Bullen fell apart following the break. Two goals in two minutes tied things up, and then Bayen jumped in front with about 10 minutes to go. It was a remarkable collapse, and now the hosts had to chase a goal.

Somehow, someway, they found one. Yussuf Poulsen broke free behind the backline in the final seconds, and his finish was an exceptional one, dinking the ball over the goalkeeper with calmness and composure. That rescued a point for his side, and it’ll likely be one they need when all is said and done.

Their sights are on the top four and UEFA Champions League football. Leipzig go into this weekend one point behind Borussia Dortmund and two behind Freiburg. They don’t control their own destiny either, and they’ll almost certainly need to secure six points from six to creep into the last UCL spot.

If they want to clinch some sort of European football, they’ll need to pick up a point here and maybe do the same next week too. They'll have their sights set on higher targets, though.

Team news

Leipzig will be without both David Raum and Kevin Kampl due to suspension, while the likes of Amadou Haidara, Benjamin Henrichs, Willi Orban, and Xaver Schlager are all out injured.