Will Werder confirm the upswing at Böllenfalltor?

When Torsten Lieberknecht talks about the Bundesliga being like a club holiday and his team not always being wanted as a newcomer, he tries to put his finger in the wound and, above all, sensitise referees. Whether the Lilien coach will also feel disadvantaged on Saturday remains to be seen during the 90 minutes. However, his speech generally has no influence on our Darmstadt vs Werder Bremen tip.

Darmstadt 98 do not have many years under their belt in the German top flight. Therefore, the worst start to a season in the club’s history must certainly be put into perspective. Nevertheless, it is of course an alarm signal when you only have one point on your account after five games. The last three teams that had exactly one point after three games were relegated in the end.

That is certainly a scenario that cannot be ruled out for the Lilies either. What is interesting is that at least three teams have only one point at the moment. With a goal difference of 6:16, they are currently in 17th place. Therefore, even before the match between Darmstadt and Werder Bremen, it is not difficult to predict a very difficult season for the Lilien.

After a few teething problems, Bremen have now arrived in the new season. With six points, Ole Werner’s team is in eleventh place. The important thing is that the trend is positive.

Darmstadt – statistics & current form

When Torsten Lieberknecht has been allowed to coach in the Bundesliga, it has always been with clubs fighting for survival. Last weekend he conceded his 25th defeat in the Bundesliga as a coach, and that in just 39 games. No coach has reached this mark in so few games. Incidentally, the Lilien coach suffered his very first defeat in the Bundesliga in August 2013, at the time in a home match with Eintracht Braunschweig, against Werder Bremen of all teams.

Crisis at the start of the season

Many statistics suggest that the Hessians have not yet arrived in the Bundesliga this season. Across the season, there has been just a single win in the last ten competitive games. Four of these games took place in the second division and there was also the defeat in the DFB Cup at regional league team FC Homburg. That doesn’t sound like you need to target the odds on a home win in the match between Darmstadt and Werder Bremen.

The key to being able to function as a promoted team in the Bundesliga is surely a stable defence and that is exactly where the Lilies have their problems. Last season, the best defence in the second division was the key to promotion. 33 goals conceded in 34 games was a great record. This year, Darmstadt has already conceded 16 goals in just five Bundesliga games. That is the worst record in the entire Bundesliga.

Last weekend’s defeat at the extremely strong VfB Stuttgart came as no surprise, although it has to be said that the Lilien proved to be extremely defensible for a long time. Darmstadt even took the lead with an own goal. Even after going behind before the break, Torsten Lieberknecht’s team did not give up, but in the end had to swallow a 1:3 defeat.

Predicted line-up of Darmstadt:

Darmstadt (Expected line-up) 3-4-2-1

Werder Bremen – Statistics & current form

Surprised, many observers of the football scene looked towards the Weser during the summer break. Bremen had indeed signed Naby Keita from Liverpool. They wanted to gain real momentum with him this season. But the former Leipzig cop was always injured until now and made his first appearance for SVW last weekend. On Sunday in Darmstadt, however, the Guinean is expected to be in the starting eleven for the first time.

Positive tendency and good morale

It’s not the most wrong time to have your star finally fit. Indeed, Bremen have had problems getting into the season. With two wins from the last three games, the world is now looking a little rosier. For the first time in 13 months, they even managed to win after falling behind. The morale in Ole Werner’s team is intact and on balance we would therefore lean towards a prediction of an away win between Darmstadt and Werder Bremen.

However, not much is coming together away from home. Across the season, there have been five defeats in the last five away games. That is the longest negative streak away from home since Bremen’s relegation season in 1979/80. But SV Werder has an ace up its sleeve when travelling. In the calendar year 2023, no attacker has been as successful away from home as Marvin Ducksch, who has eight goals and one assist to his name this year.

Last weekend, 1. FC Köln were guests at the Weserstadion and took the lead after half an hour. However, it was not long before Rafael Borre equalised for the Green-Whites. After the change, it was superjoker Justin Njinmah who scored the 2-1 winner. This season, only Mathys Tel of FC Bayern has been more successful as a substitute than the young Bremen man.

Predicted line-up of Werder Bremen:

Werder Bremen (Expected line-up) 3-5-2

Darmstadt – Werder Bremen Direct Comparison / H2H Balance

In total, the teams of Darmstadt 98 and Werder Bremen have only faced each other in 14 matches. The direct comparison is in favour of the Bremen side with 6:3 victories. Five other duels ended in a draw. However, in their few years in the Bundesliga, the Lilien have not scored more points against any other club than against the team from the Weser. In general, the trip to Darmstadt has rarely been pleasant for Bremen.

Darmstadt have never lost a point match against SV Werder at the Böllenfalltor. The only away win for the Bremen side came in December 1981 in the DFB Cup, at that time still under Otto Rehhagel. The last ever encounter took place in March 2022 in the second division. Werder Bremen won 1-0 at home after a goal by Niclas Füllkrug and would celebrate promotion to the Bundesliga just a few weeks later.

Darmstadt – Werder Bremen Tip

Darmstadt have started the season anything but well. One point from five games is not a good omen to still be first-class in the coming season. One win from the last ten competitive games does not exactly speak for a good form of the Lilies either. Therefore, we expect it to be difficult on Sunday as well, even though the promoted team cannot be reproached in terms of will and courage.

Werder Bremen, however, are likely to be the more mature team. Their two victories this season came against teams ranked 16th and 18th, and now the Bremen team is playing the 17th-placed team. It sounds as if the Green-Whites could pull away from the bottom of the table with a win, although they have recently suffered five away defeats in a row. Maybe Marvin Ducksch will prove his away qualities again.

Another important factor for Bremen is that Naby Keita, the star of the team, should finally play from the start for the first time on Sunday. This personnel should also bring more momentum into Ole Werner’s team. All in all, we have therefore decided to play the betting odds on an away win between Darmstadt and Werder Bremen.