Werder Bremen - Vfl Bochum
Football : Germany : Bundesliga
Weser Stadion
Saturday, 20th March 2010 – kickoff 15:30

Werder Bremen

The match against Valencia in the Europa League was by far the best match i have watched in the competition so far this season. Even after they were 2-0 and 3-1 down the team did not gave up their hope and fought until the very end. It was unfortunate that they have dropped out the Euro competition although in both matches they have not lost against their opponents.

Last week Werder Bremen won in Hoffenheim 1-0 and maintained their sixth position at the table with 42 points.

The team has been unbeaten in the last six rounds and they will look forward to extend that streak. Pay attention on Marko Marin who is one of the best players in the team and i rank him among top five playmakers in Europe as well. Last year he played for Borussia Monchengladbach and since the arrival in Bremen he had raised his game on a much higher level and in couple of seasons he will probably be one of the best players in the Bundesliga. So far he filled the gap very good after the departure of Diego.

Coach Schaaf will field the same formation that started against Valencia with exception of Tim Borowski who will probably be replaced with Hugo Almeida in the starting line up and played a great game against Valencia.

There are no reports yet for injured or suspended players in the team for this match.

Vfl Bochum

Vfl Bochum are on a negative run of two straight defeats and those defeats were really big – two identical 4-1 losses against Vfl Wolfsburg and Borussia Dortmund.

They are 14th at the table with 27 points, four points above the relegation zone and will face a tough battle to avoid relegation until the end.

Coach Heiko Herrlich has a few problems selecting his squad as the midfielder Mimoun Azaouagh got injured at a training session and he will be absent for at least two weeks. Milos Maric is still serving his three match suspension for a red card and his place in the team will be filled once again with Andreas Johansson. Good news for the coach will be the return of Mergim Mavraj and Roman Prokoph who both had served their one match suspensions due to yellow cards.

The striker Diego Klimowicz got back to trainings last week but he is still not match fit and will probably be on the bench.

The team will play in standard 4-4-2 formation with Christian Fuchs as one striker and the other one will be revealed right before the match as coach Herrlich has doubts for the second striker.

The Betting Verdict

The first match between these teams this season ended in convincing 4-1 away win for Werder Bremen.

Werder Bremen`s focus shifts back to the Bundesliga as they are in pursuit for the top five places that lead into Europe next season. On the other hand Bochum faces relegation battle and their form is in downswing in the last couple of matches.

Werder Bremen has too many offensive players and very good midfielders unlike Vfl Bochum whose main aim will be to stay undefeated in this match, if possible. Werder Bremen will play with three strikers that will probably look to score as soon as possible and finish off their opponent quickly.

Pizarro and Marin are in great form and although Werder Bremen have played an exhausting match against Valencia they still have deeper squad and longer bench than Vfl Bochum so i think that anything other than Werder Bremen win here will be a big surprise.

The Statistics :

The Pick :

Werder Bremen 2-0 Vfl Bochum

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

Home win for Werder Bremen