Werder Bremen-Bayer Leverkusen
Weser Stadion
Sunday, 21th February 2010 – kickoff 17:30

Werder Bremen

Werder Bremen lost 1-0 against Twente in the Europa League but in the Bundesliga are doing fairly well being placed close to the European spots.

Last week they showed a great performance against the bottom side of Hannover and hammered them 5-1. Now, they will face maybe the toughest opponent in the Bundesliga which will be a real test to their skills.

Werder Bremen have started this season very strong as they were undefeated for 23 games straight until December, when their form dipped and they have lost five matches in row. Three of those five losses were at the start of this year, which had dropped them down a bit on the table, but now they are only two points behind the European places thanks to the good performances in the last weeks.

Claudio Pizarro is in very good form as he had scored his ninth goal of the season last week against Hannover and he has also scored in all of the last three matches. Per Mertesacker and Naldo will take the places in the defense and Mesut Ozil and Marko Marin will be at the wings.

Sebastian Boenisch is out of the squad through injury and Jensen has recovered but will not be able to play as he is still not match fit.

Bayer Leverkusen

Bayer Leverkusen are still the only undefeated team in the Bundesliga after 22 matches. They keep on rolling over their opponents and are the most offensive team in the league with 48 goals scored so far.

They are on a verge on setting a new Bundesliga record if they remain undefeated in this match. Only one team previously in the Bundesliga history has remained undefeated in the first 23 matches of the season – Bayern Munich in the season 1988/89 when they also became champions under the management of the current Bayer Leverkusen coach Jupp Heynckes.

Last week they won against Wolfsburg away and once again proved their good form and great team chemistry. The team plays nice, ‘fluid’ football which brings results and are a good team to watch.

There will be one important change in the team since last week, as their best defensive player Sami Hyypia picked up his fifth yellow card and will have to sit out this match.

Simon Rolfes will be out of the squad for some time after his knee operation last week.

The Betting Verdict

Both teams play offensive football and interesting fact is that Bayer Leverkusen`s coach Heynckes has never won a match as a coach against his colleague on the other side Thomas Schaaf.

Also, Werder Bremen has positive overall record against Bayer Leverkusen. Werder Bremen have won 22 times, lost 14 and 23 matches were drawn. In the last nine matches between these teams, Werder Bremen won five times, three matches were drawn and Bayer Leverkusen managed to win only once.

Pizarro and Kiessling are among the three top scorers in the league and both teams have scored a total of 92 goals combined so far in the Bundesliga campaign.

I think that there is a chance of an upset here in this match as Werder Bremen are highly motivated to get closer to the top four spots now when they are only two points behind the European places. Plus, one of the best defensive players this season in the Bundesliga Sami Hyypia will not play which will leave even bigger gap in the Bayer Leverkusen`s defense.

However, having in mind the style of football both teams play i would rather go on betting on goals then on a straight winner. This will be a tough match for both clubs but no one will try to hold on and defend but to attack and score which will probably bring us a few goals in this match.

The Statistics :

The Pick :

Werder Bremen-Bayer Leverkusen 2-2

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

Over 2.5 goals