It will be up to Ömer Toprak to keep Christoph Daferner quiet as Werder Bremen look to end the weekend top of the pile when they meet Dynamo Dresden on Sunday (kick-off: 1.30pm CET).
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Werder took hold of top spot by beating Nordderby rivals Hamburg in a thrilling 3-2 victory on Matchday 24, but they could again find themselves dropping out of the top three by the time they play on Sunday. That’s because just one point separates them from both Darmstadt and St. Pauli – second and third, respectively – in what is shaping up to be the most hotly contested title race in Bundesliga 2 history. Regardless of results elsewhere, Ole Werner’s side know a win will be enough to keep themselves top, and winning is a feeling they’ve certainly gotten used to under their 33-year-old coach. Werner has overseen eight wins out of nine unbeaten games since taking the Werder wheel. Strike partners Marvin Ducksch and Niclas Füllkrug – who both scored against HSV – have been the main beneficiaries of Werner’s tenure, contributing 16 goals and eight assists between them over the last eight league games alone. There is no reason to change the front two or a defence marshalled by seasoned vetran Toprak, but Werner will have to replace the suspended Romano Schmid. Nicolai Rapp should be the man to step into midfield.
Similarly, Dresden will be without captain Yannick Stark after he also picked up a fifth yellow card of the season on Matchday 24, with Heinz Mörschel the front-runner to replace his skipper. Coach Alexander Schmidt’s worries don’t end there: his side go into the weekend just a point better off than Hansa Rostock in the promotion/relegation play-off place, and with a long injury list to contend with. Centre-back Tim Knipping was the latest to pull up this week and he could be one of eight first-team absentees for the trip to Bremen. The Dresden cause will, however, still be able to rely on top scorer Daferner, who inspired victory over Werder in the reverse. Dynamo have lost just once when Daferner has found the back of the net in the league this season, and they will be again looking to the 24-year-old for inspiration on Sunday.
Watch: Werder claim Nordderby victory and pole position in title race
Match stats
- Ducksch has scored nine times in his last nine Bundesliga 2 outings, swelling his season total to 15.
- Füllkrug’s 11 goals for the league campaign have fallen across his last 14 appearances.
- Bremen have scored at least three goals in three of their six games so far in 2022. They are the division’s third highest scorers (47).
- Daferner has accounted for almost half Dynamo’s 23 team goals, with a team-leading 10. He scored twice as Dynamo beat Bremen 3-0 on Matchday 8.
- Sebastian Mai is the older brother of Werder’s Lukas. They’ve made 12 and 14 Bundesliga 2 appearances respectively in 2021/22.
- Only bottom two clubs Ingolstadt and Erzgebirge Aue have collected fewer points away this season (both eight) than Dresden’s nine.
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Probable line-ups
Bremen: Pavlenka – Veljkovic, Toprak (c), Friedl – Groß – Weiser, Bittencourt, Rapp, Jung – Füllkrug, Ducksch
Out: Schmid (suspended)
Doubtful: Plogmann (concussion)
Coach: Ole Werner
Dresden: Mitryushkin – Akoto, Sollbauer (c), Ehlers, Giorbelidze – Mörschel, Kade – Schröter, Batista-Meier, Königsdorfer – Daferner
Out: Broll (hand), Knipping (knee), Löwe (knee), Stark (suspended), Vlachodimos (knee), Wiegers (knee)
Doubtful: Diawusie (ill), Herrmann (knee), Will (flu)
Coach: Alexander Schmidt