Werder Bremen-Hertha Berlin
Weserstadion
Friday, 5th February 2010 – kickoff 20:30

Werder Bremen

Borussia Monchengladbach have beat Werder Bremen 4-3 in the last round which was a big setback for the team in the race for the European places.

There will be some changes in the team as Coach Thomas Schaaf was not satisfied with the performances of some starters. Peter Niemeyer will be replaced with Tim Borowski in the starting line-up in the offensive formation.

After the poor performances in the last couple of rounds the new signing Aymen Abdennour will not be in the starting eleven in the defense and will be replaced with Petri Pasanen as a left back.

Josh Payne and Daniel Jensen are still out of the squad and are recovering from injuries.

Before the end of the transfer window the team is boosted with another attacker- the 22-year-old Sandro Wagner who was signed from the second division side MSV Duisburg. However he is currently in rehab due to his injured knee and is not available for this match.

Last week the team sent the midfielder Jurica Vranjes on-loan in the Turkish club Genclerbirligi until the end of the season.

Probable Werder Bremen line-up :
Wiese,
Fritz, Mertesacker, Naldo, Pasanen ,
Frings, Borowski, Hunt, Ozil,
Pizarro, Marin

Hertha Berlin

Hertha Berlin are still undefeated in the second part of the season where they have recorded one win and two draws.

They are still nailed at the bottom and looking for chances to get as many points as possible. However, now they will face a very tough opponent that also desperately needs a win.

Coach Friedhelm Funkel has many problems in front of this match as the first choice goalkeeper the Czech International Jaroslav Drobny is suffering from muscular problems in the thigh and he will probably miss this match.

The team will not be much changed from last week`s line-up against Bochum at home which ended in goalless draw.

Antoine Sibierski, Maximilian Nicu and Gojko Kacar are still out of the squad due to their injuries but good news is the return of Fabian Lustenberger in the defense.

Probable Hertha Berlin line-up :
Burchert,
Piszczek, Friedrich, von Bergen, Kobiashvili
Lustenberger, Kringe, Cicero, Raffael
Gekas, Ramos

The Betting Verdict

Werder Bremen are very unpredictable team, they can show great performances against stronger opponents and lose by bottom sides.

This is a match where they will have a chance against the weakest team in the league to get points and climb up closer to the top part of the table. Werder Bremen are on a negative run of five straight defeats so they must show some good performance and get important three points.

Werder Bremen have a good history against Hertha Berlin. These teams have played a total of 57 matches and Werder Bremen have emerged as winners in 29 matches. In Bremen their record is even better, where Hertha have won only four matches, four were drawn and Werder have won twenty times. In the first match in Berlin, Werder Bremen won 3-2.

Although Hertha Berlin showed some good performances in the last three rounds, they are still the weakest team in the league, and having in mind some important absences in their squad and Werder Bremen`s determination to end their negative run i think Werder Bremen are closer to victory.

The Statistics :

The Pick :

Werder Bremen 3-1 Hertha Berlin

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

Home win for Werder Bremen