Werder Bremen vs Fortuna Dusseldorf Predictions

Bremen made significant improvements last season, finishing eighth overall in the Bundesliga and also making a DFB Pokal semi-final appearance, but now Florian Kohfeldt’s target will be to take them one step further. Can they break into the top six in the 19/20 season?

That’s something easier said than done, with the departure of captain Max Kruse over the summer. However, that does mean there will be more opportunity for prodigal USMNT star Josh Sargent to build on his obvious promise. Veteran striker Claudio Pizarro, meanwhile, has also shown he still has plenty to offer after scoring twice in the DFB Pokal last Saturday.

Fortuna Dusseldorf’s 18/19 season was just as remarkable. Dusseldorf ensured their survival with time to spare following promotion, but that was thanks in a large part to a combined 20 goals from Belgian duo Dodi Lukebakio and Benito Raman, neither of whom are still at the club.

Bernard Tekpetey has been brought in from newly promoted Paderborn – 10 goals in 32 last season – to add to their attacking options, but promising Ghanaian winger Nana Ampomah will miss the opening weekend after going off injured in the DFB Pokal last weekend.

Heading into this game unbeaten in 11 games at the Weser-Stadion, Bremen are the bookies’ favourites, and we do like them for the result. However, we feel there’s better value to be had backing lots of goals in this game. Bremen’s and Dusseldorf’s 18/19 league matches saw plenty of them, as did both sides’ opening DFB Pokal games last weekend.

Statistically, only Hoffenheim’s away games (88%) were better for the “both teams to score” market than Bremen’s home games (82%) last season in the Bundesliga, while Dusseldorf’s away matches (65%) weren’t too bad for it either. Additionally, there were goals at both ends in each of Dusseldorf’s last nine Bundesliga outings too.

More good news for backing the goals market is that five of the last six meetings between them have seen “over 2.5 goals” land as well. The bad news comes for the visitors. Their track record against Bremen is poor – in fact, Bremen are unbeaten in 16 at home to Fortuna in the Bundesliga (W12 D4) – and we don’t fancy them to buck the trend. Our prediction: 2-1 Bremen.