Welcoming last season's runners-up to Bremen | OneFootball

Justin Njinmah and Werder earned a 2-2 draw the last time they hosted Bayer Leverkusen (Photo: W.DE)

Match preview ahead of home game against Bayer 04 Leverkusen

SV Werder Bremen's first home game of the 2025/26 Bundesliga campaign sees them welcome last season's runners-up Bayer 04 Leverkusen to the Weserstadion on Saturday (30th August, 15:30 CEST). Just like the Green-Whites, the Werkself also started the season with a defeat. SVW head coach Horst Steffen will be hoping to get back to winning ways with his side, despite having lost several players to injury.

Team news: In addition to Mitchell Weiser (ACL tear), Jens Stage (stress reaction in foot), Max Wöber (muscular), Olivier Deman (broken ankle) and Amos Pieper (hip operation), Werder will also be without captain Marco Friedl (MCL injury), Dikeni Salifou and Julian Malatini (ankle ligament). Niklas Stark and Felix Agu both trained individually at the start of the week, but are available to feature on the weekend.

Head coach Horst Steffen on Bayer 04 Leverkusen: "They’re still a top team with a lot of great players, and they play to an extremely high level. Even with all of their changes this summer, they’re still a very good side. Our job is to find solutions in our attacking play. We want win our first home game and leave the fans with a positive feeling.”

Home debut for Steffen & Coulibaly's first start

Karim Coulibaly (r.) is set to make his first start for Werder against Leverkusen. He will likely partner Niklas Stark (l.) at centre-back (Photo: W.DE).

A first appearance in the starting line-up: During his pre-match press conference, Horst Steffen also shared that Karim Coulibaly will make his first start for the Green-Whites in order to fill some of the gaps in defence due to injury. The 18-year-old made his Bundesliga debut in last weekend's defeat against Eintracht Frankfurt, and is now set for his first start in the division. “He is a really good player and he’s very strong in the tackle. He’s already so mature for his age, and he showed that in the friendlies. He’s going to be in the starting XI against Leverkusen," said Steffen.

Head-to-head record: Werder have won 35 of their 101 meetings with the Werkself to date (also D38, L28). Last season, Werder managed to take four points from their two meetings with Leverkusen. A 2-2 draw at the Weserstadion saw the Green-Whites come back to equalise twice, before earning a 2-0 victory at the BayArena. Werder last faced Bayer 04 in their first home game of the season back in 2006, running out 2-1 winners back then.

Two new faces on the sidelines: Saturday's match won't just be Horst Steffen's first at the Weserstadion, but it will also be his first home game as a head coach in the Bundesliga. His counterpart at Leverkusen, Erik ten Hag, is also taking charge of just his second match in the division.