The Germany 2. Bundesliga begins this weekend and on the 24th of July we have a meeting between Werder Bremen and Hannover 96 at the Weserstadion.
The hosts begin the season as one of the favourites to win promotion while the visitors are also considered contenders, making this an intriguing first fixture of the campaign.
Fülle lässig mit Außenrist 😎#Werder | #Füllkrug pic.twitter.com/OvyiLBkATi— SV Werder Bremen (@werderbremen) July 21, 2021
Fülle lässig mit Außenrist 😎#Werder | #Füllkrug pic.twitter.com/OvyiLBkATi
Werder Bremen come into the match hoping to return to the Bundesliga at the first time of asking. They finished 17th in the table last season on 31 points, 4 points adrift of safety and won only 7 of their 34 matches.
An extremely poor end to the season was responsible for sending them down as Werder Bremen lost 9 of their final 10 Bundesliga games, picking up just a point from the 30 available.
They will be hoping to begin this season with a victory having recorded just one win in their last 12 competitive fixtures.
Looking at their recent friendly results, Werder Bremen have won only one of their last 4 matches and played Feyenoord twice, drawing the first game 2-2 and losing the second 2-1.
Trends show Werder Bremen have failed to win any of their last 7 home games in all competitions. They have kept just a single clean sheet in their last 8 competitive matches at the Weserstadion and will be hoping to improve defensively this season.
Hannover 96 finished in 13th place in the Germany 2. Bundesliga last season having claimed a total of 42 points.
That left them 11 points clear of the relegation zone, so they were never in any real danger of facing the drop but were cut well adrift from the promotion battle.
Hannover 96 won 12 of their 34 matches last season but scored plenty of goals, with only Darmstadt 98 scoring more from the teams in 6th place and below in the table.
Hannover 96 struggled away from home towards the end of the 2020/21 Germany 2. Bundesliga season.
They recorded a victory in the final away fixture of the season but that was their only win from their last 6 away league games. Hannover 96 have lost 4 of their last 6 away 2. Bundesliga games.
Trends show Hannover 96 have won just 2 of their 14 most recent 2. Bundesliga clashes and are on a poor run of 13 league matches in which they have allowed at least 1 goal.
Team news and Werder Bremen should have every player available for this game. The only doubt could be Ludwig Augustinsson who was in the Sweden squad at the European Championship.
Hannover 96 also appear to have a clean bill of health for this fixture and should be at full strength.
We expect this to be an entertaining start to the season, with both teams scoring and over 2.5 goals in the game.
However, with home advantage and Hannover 96’s poor away record, Werder Bremen must be favourites to take maximum points.