An unpredictable opponent | OneFootball

Marvin Ducksch is one of four former Dortmund players in the Werder ranks (Photo: nordphoto).

Preview ahead of the match away to Borussia Dortmund

SV Werder are hoping to rediscover that winning feeling on Saturday afternoon following a run of seven games without victory (kick-off 15:30 CET). Many may be unsure of what to expect from upcoming opponents Borussia Dortmund, who dismissed their head coach during the week. Our match preview continues below.

Team news: Keke Topp and Felix Agu remain absent, although the latter has returned to parts of team training. It is still too early for him to make his comeback to competitive action. It has now also been confirmed that both Niklas Stark (ill) and Julian Malatini (muscular problems) will not make the trip to Dortmund.

Ole Werner on the opposition: “The change of head coach does have an effect on your preparations, because it creates a bit more uncertainty. You get some information about the new coach and analyse his approach. We’ll draw our conclusions from that and know what to expect. It’s also important that we look to improve ourselves. We can’t really have an influence on how his Dortmund team play though apart from through our own performance on the pitch. We’ll see when it comes to the game. Dortmund are at home and have a lot of individual quality. The coach will have tried to implement some new tactics in order to add some stability.”

Tullberg takes over from Sahin on interim basis

Mike Tullberg will take charge of the opposition for Saturday’s clash (Photo: nordphoto).

Recent meetings: Along with VfL Wolfsburg, the sides are two of the three who have both scored and conceded over 30 goals in the current Bundesliga campaign. Therefore, the 0-0 draw in the reverse fixture was something of a surprising score line. The match-up is a classic one, steeped in tradition, and sees the team second in the all-time league standings taking on the team placed in third. BVB have prevailed 49 times, while SVW have emerged victorious on 42 occasions, most recently with a sensational, last-minute comeback as they ran out 3-2 winners.

A change in the dugout: Borussia Dortmund’s fourth loss in just as many games to start the new calendar year spelled the end of Nuri Sahin’s tenure as head coach, following the 2-1 defeat at the hands of Bologna in the Champions League. The former Werder player made the step up from assistant to head coach over the summer, taking over in the role from Edin Terzic. Dortmund U19s coach Mike Tullberg will lead the senior side on an interim basis until the club’s management appoint a permanent replacement.