Werder Bremen v FC Koln
Football : German : Bundesliga
Weser Stadion
Saturday, 24th April 2010 – kickoff 18:30

Werder Bremen

Werder Bremen did a great job last weekend beating Vfl Wolfsburg 4-2 away and now they occupy the third place at the table with 54 points and have a very good chance to clinch a Champions league qualification spot.

Three teams are breathing at their necks as Bayer Leverkusen are leveled on points with Werder Bremen and Borussia Dortmund and Vfb Stuttgart are just one and four points behind so the last couple of rounds will be very interesting in the battle for the third place.

Currently Werder Bremen are on a good run having won five of their last six league matches and have two victories in a row. They are also the most offensive team in the league with massive 67 goals scored so far.

Werder Bremen have a very tough last two games after FC Koln match, cause they will have to meet Schalke 04 away and Hamburger SV at home so this will be ideal opportunity for the team to get three points and stay in a good position before the last two rounds.

Coach Thomas Schaaf can be satisfied because he will have his best squad available for selection and only two players will be absent. Tim Borowski will have to sit out due to a fifth yellow card suspension and Peter Niemeyer is out through ankle injury.

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

FC Koln

FC Koln can be satisfied because they are on a positive run with two straight victories without conceding a goal (two 2-0 wins against TSG Hoffenheim and Vfl Bochum). They also have three wins in the last four matches and have secured their Bundesliga status with the win over Vfl Bochum last weeks so now they can peacefully and without pressure prepare for the next season.

Zoran Tosic is in great form and he scored twice last week and coach Zvonimir Soldo often uses him as a secret offensive weapon behind Podolski and Novakovic. It is interesting that this player is on loan from Manchester United and after the season is over is expected to return back in England.

The defender Mohamad is expected in the starting line up after serving his one match suspension and other than him the line up will be the same from last week, which means coach Soldo will play again with two strikers in the starting eleven.

Probable FC Koln line-up :
Mondragon ,
Brecko , Geromel, Mohamad , Ehret
Petit, Matuschyk ,Freis , Tosic ,
Podolski ,Novakovic

The Betting Verdict

The first match between these teams this season ended in a goalless draw. The overall record between the teams is fairly balanced as Werder Bremen have 30 wins, 31 losses and 18 draws against their opponents.

This should be an entertaining match having on mind that FC Koln are safe, but Werder Bremen need points to hold on to their position at the table.

FC Koln are much more dangerous when playing away and interesting fact is that 23 out of their total of 37 points were collected on the away matches.

However, they are without pressure unlike Werder Bremen and having on mind the good form that Werder Bremen are in, with only one loss in the last eleven matches, i expect Werder Bremen to get a win here and continue their victorious run before the clash with Schalke 04 next week.

The Statistics :

The Pick :

Werder Bremen 3-2 FC Koln

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

Take the Home win for Werder Bremen