Werder Bremen vs Schalke 04
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Slowly, but surely, Werder Bremen are getting their players back from injury. They’ve missed a lot of players this season, especially in defence. With highly impressive Swedish full-back Augustinsson returning to the fold, I’m expecting Werder Bremen’s performances to improve.
Ironically, I don’t expect Werder Bremen to look better in defence because he’s back but moreso their attack. Werder Bremen are not a team that I expect to defend well at any time anyway, although Augustinsson is one of the better ones on that front. Instead, I expect Augustinsson’s return to boost their attack because of his understanding with those around him, the brilliance with which he supports attacks, and stamina that he never seems to expend. His return allows the team to be that bit more unpredictable in the final third with fluidity, flexibility, and good link-up play. Not many seem to realise his importance to this team, in all honesty, but their attack has suffered as much without him as they have when Gebre Selassie (other full-back) has been out, which is a big compliment to Augustinsson. I doubt he’ll be at Werder Bremen next season.
Werder Bremen are likely to look even stronger in attack now he’s back, and they’re already very hard to contain. Imagine a team that never stops running nor pressing; a team with tremendous comfort on the ball, and a team with players that look very at home regardless of the position they’re in, affording them a great weapon with overlapping runs and general link-up play. That’s what Werder Bremen are. The only way I’ve seen a team stop them from functioning was to deploy a stringent high-pressing system because this team cannot go long with any effectiveness. It’s only RB Leipzig and Bayern Munich that I’ve seen do it to them at the Weserstadion though.
They always manage to find skilful, talented footballers to call their own too, Werder Bremen, whether it’s Rashica, Osako, Sahin, or their home-grown Eggestein brothers. Dealing with this team is tough. I won’t deny that Schalke 04’s style is what tends to choke Werder Bremen but I don’t believe the visitors are good enough at it to stop them. It might be enough for Schalke 04 to get something from the game but I outright refuse to believe that they can actually contain Werder Bremen, although as always, I am open to being proven wrong!
Having said that, I must take my hat off to Wagner. I remember thinking he was the wrong guy to sort out this Schalke 04 mess but he’s very much been the right guy. He’s still working with a bang average squad, for the most part, but he’s made them very good tactically. I don’t know what his finest work is at Schalke 04, really, because he’s done a number of things. Whether it’s reminding Harit of just how good he is, whether it’s restoring pride to a dismal team, or whether it’s making the team much more modern tactically, allowing them to properly compete in Bundesliga matches again, it’s safe to say that Wagner has done a sterling job over the past two months.
How long will it last for? Your guess is as good as mine. It’s nice to see a big club like Schalke 04 getting back to where they belong but I’m a bit skeptical of them doing so nowadays, I’m afraid. They’re in the ‘AC Milan’ category for me in terms of a team that doesn’t seem to want to be a top team anymore. Still, I hope I am wrong. I hope Wagner is the man to do it, too – he’s earned that from the spirit and life he’s brought to this sleeping giant of German football.
They’ve got bottle once more, Schalke 04 – I like that. Yes, they’re still a shadow of the team that they once were but they give a shit again and that’s so important in such a competitive Bundesliga. Teams know they won’t get an easy ride when facing Schalke 04 now, and even that budding reputation is a positive. Again, this isn’t a good team but they work bloody hard and are effective because of it. They absolutely cannot defend but then again, they’re not trying to. They’re attacking and scoring goals. Serdar and Harit are having great campaigns now, and the mobility and tenacity fused with the sheer numbers they’re sending forward has led to them scoring goals. I don’t see why a trip to Bremen would be any different.
To me, this game should be a high-scoring and entertaining one. I can’t really separate the two at the moment so I wouldn’t enter the 1×2 market but backing over 3 goals makes a lot of sense to me with both teams attack-minded, and the home team still without first-choice centre-backs.
Verdict: Over 3 goals at 26/25.
Saturday’s Thoughts
As ever, if there are any explanations required then please feel free to post a comment! For the remainder of my thoughts on today’s games, see below, although I feel compelled to write that the below are not necessarily my tips but merely my thoughts. For confidence ratings, you’ll need to go to the members section here.
Copa Libertadores:
Flamengo vs River Plate (ARG)
Australian A-League:
Wellington Phoenix vs Brisbane Roar
Adelaide United vs Melbourne Victory
Perth Glory vs Sydney FC
Austrian Bundesliga:
SV Mattersburg vs Wolfsberger AC
Salzburg vs St. Polten
Swarovski Tirol vs LASK Linz
Belgian Eerste Klasse:
AS Eupen vs Standard de Liege
KV Mechelen vs Zulte-Waregem
Waasland-Beveren vs Cercle Brugge
Royal Excel Mouscron vs Racing Genk
Brazilian Serie A:
Santos vs Cruzeiro
Bulgarian A PFG:
Slavia Sofia vs Cherno More Varna
Botev Vratsa vs CSKA Sofia
Ludogorets Razgrad vs Lokomotiv Plovdiv
Croatian Prva Liga:
Gorica vs Varazdin
Slaven Koprivnica vs Lokomotiva Zagreb
Czech Republic Liga 1:
Bohemians 1905 vs Marila Pribram
Opava vs Mlada Boleslav
Slovan Liberec vs Zlin
Sigma Olomouc vs Slavia Prague
English Premier League:
West Ham United vs Tottenham Hotspur
Arsenal vs Southampton
Bournemouth vs Wolverhampton Wanderers
Brighton & Hove Albion vs Leicester City
Crystal Palace vs Liverpool
Everton vs Norwich City
Watford vs Burnley
Manchester City vs Chelsea
French Ligue 1:
Olympique Lyonnais vs OGC Nice
Amiens SC vs Racing Club Strasbourg
Angers SCO vs Nimes Olympique
Stade Brestois vs Nantes Atlantique
Dijon FCO vs Stade Rennais
Metz vs Stade de Reims
German Bundesliga:
Werder Bremen vs Schalke 04
Fortuna Dusseldorf vs Bayern Munich
Eintracht Frankfurt vs VfL Wolfsburg
Bayer 04 Leverkusen vs SC Freiburg
Union Berlin vs Borussia Moenchengladbach
RB Leipzig vs Koln
German Bundesliga 2:
Arminia Bielefeld vs SV Sandhausen
Hamburger SV vs Dynamo Dresden
Wehen Wiesbaden vs Holstein Kiel
Hungarian Liga 1:
Fehervar vs Puskas FC
Budapest Honved vs Paksi SE
Mezokovesd-Zsory vs Kaposvari Rakoczi
Varda SE vs Debreceni VSC
Ujpest vs Diosgyori VTK
Italian Serie A:
Atalanta Bergamo vs Juventus
AC Milan vs SSC Napoli
Torino vs Internazionale
Italian Serie B:
Benevento vs Crotone
Juve Stabia vs Salernitana
Livorno vs Trapani
Pordenone vs Perugia
Empoli vs Venezia
Lithuanian A Lyga:
Kauno Zalgiris vs Panevezys
Rieterai vs Suduva Marijampole
Dutch Eredivisie:
FC Utrecht vs AZ Alkmaar
AFC Ajax Amsterdam vs Heracles Almelo
PEC Zwolle vs Fortuna Sittard
ADO Den Haag vs Willem II
Portuguese Taca de Portugal:
Sporting Braga vs Gil Vicente
Vizela vs SL Benfica
Russian Premier League:
FK Orenburg vs Akhmat Grozny
Rubin Kazan vs Zenit St. Petersburg
Dinamo Moscow vs FK Rostov
Spanish Primera Liga:
Leganes CF vs Barcelona CF
Real Betis Balompie vs Valencia CF
Granada vs Atletico Madrid
Real Madrid vs Real Sociedad
Swiss Super League:
Servette vs FC Basel
FC Zurich vs FC Luzern
Swiss Challenge League:
Chiasso vs Stade Lausanne-Ouchy
FC Schaffhausen vs Vaduz
Turkish Super Lig:
Denizlispor vs Rizespor
Ankaragucu vs Trabzonspor
Konyaspor vs Besiktas JK
Enjoy your free betting tips!