FC Augsburg vs SV Werder Bremen Preview: Bundesliga Matchday 1
SV Werder Bremen make their long-awaited return to Bundesliga action on Saturday as they’ll head on the road to take on FC Augsburg at the WWK Arena. Here is the FC Augsburg vs SV Werder Bremen preview!
Bremen’s campaign officially began this past Monday, but that contest took place in the DFB Pokal, Germany’s domestic cup competition. It was an easy day at the office, as they beat Energie Cottbus 3-1 with relative ease to secure their spot in the next round.
Augsburg were also involved in cup action, and they were also winners. Away to Viktoria Berlin, Die Fuggerstädter actually conceded in the opening four minutes, but goals either side of the halftime break put them back in front before they added two more late on.
Both of the first-division sides avoided the upset, but only one can pick up another win this weekend.
Off-season Recap for Bremen and Augsburg
This is usually where we’d cover how the teams have been doing so far this year, but they’ve each only played a single match. There’s not a lot to go off of. Instead, let’s check in on how their respective off-seasons went.
It’s not been the most eventful summer in Bremen. Their first bit of business came before June even began, as they signed Austrian attacker Marco Grüll on a pre-contract at the end of last season.
Then came a pair of cheaper deals on different ends, both in terms of age and experience level. 33-year-old goalkeeper Markus Kolke arrived to be the club’s third-choice option, and 20-year-old striker Keke Topp came in from Schalke to bring a new option to the attack.
The final bit of business was the permanent signing of young talent Skelly Alvero, who was on loan last campaign from Lyon. He’s likely the man Werder will have their highest hopes for, especially given the fact that they spent nearly 5 million to secure his services.
A couple of promising academy prospects did both depart, which was tough for the club. Eren Dinkci had his release clause triggered by Freiburg, while Nick Woltemade was able to leave on a free at the end of his contract, signing for Stuttgart.
Augsburg has had a more hectic go of it. They were involved in one of the major Bundesliga deals, as they sold captain and star striker Ermedin Demirović to Stuttgart for over 20 million euros. The likes of Lukas Petkov, Iago, and Patric Pfeiffer also departed.
They brought in plenty of replacements, to be fair. Samuel Essende will be one of the new men up top, while top-flight staple Kristijan Jakic has joined to shore up the midfield. Keven Schlotterbeck and Nediljko Labrovic should support the defensive front, and Yusuf Kabadayi is one to watch out for, as the 20-year-old comes from the Bayern Munich setup.
Key Players
Augsburg – Samuel Essende
It’s always hard to be the new guy in town, especially when you’re replacing someone who was as important to Augsburg as Ermedin Demirovic.
That’s the challenge Samuel Essende is facing going into this year. Signed in the summer from Portuguese outfit FC Vizela, he scored 15 league goals last campaign, and his new club will hope he can hit similar heights for them.
It’s a bit of a risky acquisition. That was the forward’s only successful season in his career, and he’s already 26. Then again, there’s been plenty of late bloomers who have thrived in the Bundesliga, and it’s not like Augsburg has the most money to spend on players.
Essende has already scored for them. In the aforementioned Pokal contest, a give-and-go played him into space, and he made the most of the chance, slotting home with composure and confidence.
FCA will likely need him to score this season in order to avoid relegation for another year, and there’d be no better way to start his league campaign with a goal this weekend.
Werder Bremen – Marvin Ducksch
There’s a chance Bremen only goes as far as Marvin Ducksch takes them.
The team is full of talent elsewhere, of course. Marco Friedl anchors the defense, Mitchell Weiser provides danger from the wings, and Romano Schmid is blossoming in the heart of midfield.
Ducksch is just different, though. More often than not, the attack runs through him, and the team’s general performance going forward hinges on how well he’s playing.
There are times where he’s often getting the ball in good positions, which allows him to either find teammates or go for goal himself. Then again, there are as many games where he’s an isolated figure, and the few times the ball comes his way, it quickly ends up with the opposition.
That has made the German a controversial figure with the Weder fanbase. Many really turned on him last campaign following a string of rough performances, and he wasn’t too happy about that, sometimes biting back on social media and in the press.
Ducksch ended the season well, though, with seven-goal contributions in the final five matches. That squashed the beef a bit, but there’s going to be pressure on him to start this year.
He’s incredibly skilled, and he’s an immense goal threat when he’s playing with confidence and joy. A goal or an assist this weekend could be the perfect start to the campaign, setting himself and his team up for a run of sunshine and rainbows instead of doom and gloom.
Predicted Lineups
Augsburg: Labrovic, Pedersen, Gouweleeuw, Schlotterbeck, Giannoulis, Engels, Breithaupt, Maier, Rexhbecaj, Essende, Tietz
Werder Bremen: Zetterer, Weiser, Stark, Friedl, Veljković, Agu, Stage, Lynen, Schmid, Ducksch, Topp
Previous Meetings
Bremen did the double over Augsburg last season.
The first matchup took place in Bremen, and the hosts opened the scoring right before the half. Marvin Ducksch whipped a cross into the box, where Niklas Stark was on hand to flick a header past the goalkeeper.
Ducksch went from provider to scorer at the hour mark, as he headed home a superb first-time ball from Mitchell Weiser. That proved to be the end of the scoring, and Werder held on to the clean sheet to secure the win.
The reverse tie was in Augsburg, and remarkably enough Bremen won by an even bigger margin. Another Ducksch set-piece made its way to the backpost, and this time it was Romano Schmid who redirected the ball into the back of the net.
Ducksch then scored 10 minutes later from the penalty spot after Felix Agu was wiped out in the box, and Olivier Deman headed home in stoppage time to put a lovely cherry on the cake for his side.
When and How to watch
The match kicks off at 16:00 local time in Germany and 9:30 am Eastern Standard Time for those in the United States, with it streaming live on ESPN+ for those supporters.
Unfortunately for the UK and Ireland, the match will not be shown on TV.
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