Werder Bremen vs Hertha Berlin
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Today’s free tip is in the German Bundesliga encounter between Werder Bremen and Hertha Berlin.
Last season, Werder Bremen were lucky enough to learn about the dangers of making mistakes in their position without actually being relegated. Despite being an old, never-been-relegated side, Werder Bremen have flirted with it in the past by being a bit too open in their games. They’re as entertaining as can be, which is nice, but it’s not always good for picking up points. Ordinarily, this team does enough in attack to counteract what they get wrong in defence but that didn’t happen in their last campaign. They never really found a proper route to goal throughout their campaign – even after Selke joined on loan – and their defence was more vulnerable than ever, mostly because of a lot of injuries. They’ve been afforded a chance to solve their problems and return to being a solid mid-table team, Werder Bremen – it would be prudent not to look this particular gift horse in the mouth.
The impression I get from everyone and everything associated with this club at the moment is that they’ve taken that brush with Bundesliga 2 football very seriously indeed. They’ve been impressed in friendlies, looked decent enough in their DFB Pokal win at Carl Zeiss Jena recently, and should be well placed to do well today Most of their squad is settled at the moment, which helps. Toprak is still injured but that’s about it, really. Harnik is out too, but I believe the general consensus is that he won’t be at the club this season anyway, which is a shame – he’s a good forward, and they need as many as they can get.
The sole area of the Werder Bremen team that is not settled is Kosovan creator Rashica. The media continues to link him with moves elsewhere, and there is a touch of inevitability about it at some stage. He won’t be playing tonight either, presumably whilst he sorts out what it is that he actually wants to do. Werder Bremen need an answer though; they can’t build a squad for the season ahead, not knowing who their main creator will be. They’ve added Schmid and Chong, two very promising and energetic youngsters to keep that all-too-familiar Werder Bremen speed, skill, and intensity in full flow – but they still need a designated creator.
Fortunately for us, Hertha Berlin are charitable enough to give their hosts enough chances to win this one even without a visible solution to the Rashica debacle. With or without the Kosovan, Werder Bremen will play with lots of intensity, lots of conviction, and are completely unafraid of all opposition. They are more than happy to send men forward when they see fit, and that ultimately does lead to them scoring goals, one way or another. On paper, Hertha Berlin may be able to deal with such, but in reality, they’ve never looked more incapable of doing so.
To say that the capital club’s fans were unimpressed by their team’s demolition job in the DFB Pokal last time out would be a huge understatement. They shipped five goals against fellow eastern Germany outfit Eintracht Braunschweig, a team that just got promoted back into the Bundesliga 2 this season. You know what’s the most embarrassing part of it, though? They deserved to concede more than they did. It wasn’t a terrible display all-round, but it was a terrible defensive display, and that’s not something you want to bring into a game where focus is particularly paramount, which is unquestionably the case for matches at the Weserstadion.
Hertha Berlin will be pleased to have Boyata and Torunarigha back in defence today but that’s paving over the cracks at this club, really. I love the project, and the concept that an eastern Germany outfit can authentically (ooh, RB Leipzig burn!) become a heavyweight of the Bundesliga with the appropriate planning. They’ve gotten a lot right over the years, Hertha Berlin. However, ever since the bizarre ‘moving upstairs’ of Dardai, this club has lacked leadership and direction. They’ve got a good squad, one that I like quite a lot actually, but it never looks good on the pitch anymore. They need a long-term manager in there, and with all due respect to him, I do not see Labbadia being that man. As always, he is a stop gap for clubs looking for alternatives. Hertha Berlin do not need that stop gap right now, though – they need a solution. Until they find one, I just can’t trust them.
For today’s game, Hertha Berlin remain without talented holding midfielder Ascacibar and capable Dutch attacker Dilrosun. Depth is not a particular concern in this squad, at least not in an offensive capacity. It’s just effectiveness that is the problem. This club is now in a position to spend money, just for clarity. They’ve spent, what – just shy of 110 mil since the turn of the year? Probably more than that, actually. There’s no lack of ambition at this club, and I do like that they’ve signed some good young players for the future. The likes of Piatek, Lukebakio, Cunha, Tousart, and Ascacibar can take this club to the next level, given time. Ascacibar is injured though, and the other three still have an awful lot to learn about consistency. The club recently added Cordoba from Koln too, who is yet another capable but frustratingly inconsistent attacker. The potential is there; the reality is not, though.
I really do want Hertha Berlin to succeed – but I can’t see it happening any time soon. They may have a better and more expensive squad than their hosts, but they lack the togetherness, pride, and consistency of Werder Bremen right now. Therefore, I’m going to trust the home team’s typical intensity to unsettle the capital club enough for Werder Bremen to pick up three points today.
Verdict: Werder Bremen to win with draw no bet at 83/100.
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.
Austrian Bundesliga:
Salzburg vs SCR Altach
Swarovski Tirol vs LASK
Sturm Graz vs Rapid Vienna
Belgian Eerste Klasse:
KV Oostende vs OH Leuven
Royal Excel Mouscron vs AA Gent
Waasland-Beveren vs RSC Anderlecht
Brazilian Serie A:
RB Bragantino vs Ceara
Fortaleza vs Internacional
Atletico Goianiense vs Atletico Mineiro
Bulgarian A PFG:
Beroe vs Cherno More Varna
Levski Sofia vs CSKA 1948 Sofia
Croatian Prva Liga:
Gorica vs Istra 1961
Dinamo Zagreb vs Slaven Koprivnica
Czech Republic Liga 1:
Banik Ostrava vs Pardubice
Opava vs Ceske Budejovice
Bohemians 1905 vs Viktoria Plzen
Danish Superligaen:
FC Midtjylland vs Lyngby
English Premier League:
Everton vs West Bromwich Albion
Leeds United vs Fulham
Arsenal vs West Ham United
Manchester United vs Crystal Palace
Estonian Meistriliiga:
Trans Narva vs Tulevik
Tallinna Kalev vs Tammeka
Kuressaare vs Legion
Faroese Betrideildin:
TB vs KI
NSI Runavik vs EB/Streymur
Finnish Veikkausliiga:
Inter Turku vs SJK
HIFKvs IFK Mariehamn
Ilves vs Haka Valkeakoski
French Ligue 1:
Racing Club Lens vs Girondins de Bordeaux
Stade Rennais vs AS Monaco
German Bundesliga:
Eintracht Frankfurt vs Arminia Bielefeld
Union Berlin vs Augsburg
Koln vs TSG Hoffenheim
Werder Bremen vs Hertha Berlin
VfB Stuttgart vs SC Freiburg
Bv09 Borussia Dortmund vs Borussia Moenchengladbach
German Bundesliga 2:
Hannover 96 vs Karlsruher SC
SV Sandhausen vs Darmstadt 98
Wurzburger Kickers vs Erzgebirge Aue
Icelandic Urvalsdeild:
Fjolnir Reykjavik vs KA
Italian Serie A:
ACF Fiorentina vs Torino
Hellas Verona vs AS Roma
Mexican Liga MX:
Atlas vs Pachuca
Tigres UANL vs Queretaro
America vs Guadalajara
Dutch Eredivisie:
AZ Alkmaar vs PEC Zwolle
Vitesse Arnhem vs Sparta Rotterdam
PSV Eindhoven vs FC Emmen
Fortuna Sittard vs SC Heerenveen
Norwegian Eliteserien:
Valerenga Oslo vs Molde FK
Sarpsborg 08 vs Mjondalen
Portuguese Liga 1:
CD Nacional de Madeira vs Boavista
FC Porto vs Sporting Braga
Portuguese Liga 2:
Casa Pia vs SL Benfica II
Mafra vs Academico Viseu
Arouca vs Leixoes Matosinhos
FC Porto II vs Vizela
Sporting Covilha vs Cova de Piedade
Russian Premier League:
Ural Sverdlovskaya Oblast vs Zenit St. Petersburg
FK Rostov vs Rotor Volgograd
Spanish Primera Liga
Villarreal CF vs Eibar
Getafe vs CA Osasuna
Celta de Vigo vs Valencia CF
Swiss Super League:
Lugano vs Luzern
Young Boys Bern vs FC Zurich
Swiss Challenge League:
SC Kriens vs Neuchatel Xamax
Aarau vs FC Wil
FC Schaffhausen vs Chiasso
Turkish Super Lig:
Genclerbirligi vs Konyaspor
Denizlispor vs Trabzonspor
Besiktas JK vs Antalyaspor
Alanyaspor vs Kayserispor
Enjoy your free betting tips!