Werder Bremen 2025/26 season preview: Transfers, pre-season, predicted lineup & predictions | OneFootball

Ever since their promotion back into the Bundesliga in 2022, SV Werder Bremen have slowly but surely climbed up the league table.

Bremen’s first season saw them survive relegation, and do it quite comfortably. Then they finished the following campaign in 9th, a top-half finish and only a point away from qualifying for Europe. They snuck up one more spot this past year, clinching 8th on the final day.

While Werder staff and supporters are happy to see consistent progress, there’s also a pressure to finally take that next step. As one of the biggest clubs in the Bundesliga, they know they should be consistently finishing in the upper echelon’s of the league standings.

There’s hope that this will finally be the season this happens. However, there’s also concern that they could slip back down into danger, having to avoid the disaster of relegation.

That is because of the amount of change that’s happened at Bremen. The biggest change came at manager, as former boss Ole Werder was fired right at the start of the summer. He didn’t want to sign an extension and commit his future to the club, so they had to let him go.

Werder didn’t take long to replace him. Only shortly after, the hiring of Horst Steffen was confirmed. A bit of a dark-horse candidate, the German had just brought Elversberg to the relegation-playoff, where they were narrowly defeated by FC Heidenheim. That spell was his only real experience, and he’s never coached in the Bundesliga.

His brand of football is very exciting. Players get forward, the ball moves around quickly, and there’s plenty of opportunities to create chances. This comes at a cost, of course. There are spaces left open at the back, and if everyone isn't tracking their man then the opposition will have an easy time in the final third.

The coaching move is the most important one, but there were also some key transfers at the Weserstadion.

Transfer summary

It’s been a relatively quiet summer in terms of the number of players who either came in or left. However, the names that were involved are major ones.

Things didn’t start too big. Bremen announced the signing of defender Maximilian Wöber, a veteran for both club and country. He’s not going to be a star asset or anything like that, but he will still bring a lot to the table.

While he can play at centerback, the 27-year-old will likely be utilized more at fullback. He provides useful depth there, especially when Werder are looking to play more defensively. He’s no Dani Alves. He’s much more suited to tracking back than bombing forward.

Wöber was playing in Germany two years ago, as he was on loan at Borussia Mönchengladbach. The past few seasons haven’t been too kind to him, and Leeds United supporters were celebrating his departure. If he can rekindle the form he had at RB Salzburg, though, then he could be a shrewd pickup.

The other real acquisition was a much more notable one. Werder went shopping in Turin, and they came away with Juventus youngster Samuel Mbangula. It wasn’t a cheap trip, with his transfer fee being an initial 10 million Euros with a potential 2 million in future add-ons.

This sort of deal is rare to see from the club. They don’t often shell out the big bucks, and this fee was the 2nd-highest they’ve ever paid for a player, only behind the 13.5 million they paid for Davy Klasssen in 2018. It’s a risky move for sure, but it’s one that could pay off handsomely.

Mbangula is someone who could really break out in the future. The 21-year-old represented Belgium at the youth levels, and he had been called up for the senior side for the most recent international break. He featured plenty for his club last campaign, making 32 appearances in total.

His numbers aren’t that bad, with 4 goals and 5 assists to his name that year. The goals he does score tend to be lovely ones, and he’s already developed a knack for cutting inside and curling the ball into the opposite corner. His pace and dribbling ability help him get into those positions, and he can pick out a final ball too.

The winger’s biggest issue is consistency. This upcoming season at the Weserstadion will be the first time he will be a constant in the team sheet and will have to be relied upon week after week after week. It’s nice to create a highlight every once in a while, but what truly matters is getting results.

If Mbangula hits the ground running, he’ll quickly turn into a dangerous Bundesliga attacker. He could offer Bremen a new threat in the final third, carrying them up the league table. Then the club could either build around him, or make a major profit when someone richer comes calling.

Then again, there’s a chance the player flops. It’s hard to make that step up at this level, and the pressure could get to him. It wouldn’t be the end of the world, but for a club like Werder to spend 10+ million and not get much of a return would really hurt.

On the departure side of things the team hasn’t lost anyone vital, or at least not yet. There’s been rumors and beliefs that either Jens Stage or Romano Schmid, or both, could leave in this month, but nothing has come close to happening on that front.

The one important player who did leave was Marvin Ducksch. The striker joined in 2021, which was a pivotal time for the club. They had just been relegated to the 2. Bundesliga, and they were desperate to return as soon as possible.

Ducksch was responsible for getting the goals, and he did exactly that. Forming a remarkable partnership with Niclas Füllkrug, he scored 20 times, adding 10 assists to his tally as well. That high-powered offense got Werder back in the first-division, and he continued to perform in the following years.

The number #7 grabbed 12 goals in each of the next two seasons, and followed that up with 8 this past campaign. He wasn’t only a goalscorer, as he turned into a real playmaker. Ducksch nearly registered 30 assists in the span of three years.

While he had been one of their best players, as time went on he began to fade. His speed diminished, and he couldn’t hit passes at the same rate as before. The biggest problem with Ducksch is that he would get frustrated with himself and his teammate when things weren’t going well, which compounded the problems going on.

At the end of the season, the general feeling was that it was time to move on. The German wasn’t going to be forced out. If a suitable bid came in, though, it would be accepted. When Birmingham City came calling, a deal was ultimately made.

Bremen were already looking at purchasing a striker, but they’ll definitely need one now following his departure. The main link at the moment is RB Leipzig frontman André Silva, but negotiations have been complicated.

Pre-season recap

Unfortunately for Werder, their pre-season preparations have not gone smoothly.

Things started off well, as they ran through some lower-league German sides. The likes of Blumenthaler SV, OSC Bremerhaven, Verden 04, and Kickers Emden were all beaten comprehensively. The goals poured in, with a total of 19 in those four games.

However, once Bremen started playing real competition, the goals dried up. They met Italian outfit Parma and drew 0-0. Then came a pair of matches with Hoffenheim, one game with starters on the field and another with the rest of the squad. Neither lineup performed, and a 1-0 loss was followed up by a 3-0 defeat.

Werder had one warmup remaining. This one was in front of their home supporters at the Weserstadion, but that didn’t help things too much. They were held scoreless for another half, and they conceded two pretty sloppy goals. The goalscoring duct was finally broken via a Romano Schmid penalty after the break, but that was it on the afternoon.

That’s 0 goals from the run of play in four matches. While supporters know there will be some growing pains with a new manager and some new attackers, this is a worrying start to proceedings.

What’s even worse is that the injury bug has hit them hard. Several players picked up some sort of knocks, and two key talents picked up major injuries. Jens Stage hurt his foot, and he likely won’t be back until after the international break. He was luckier than Mitchell Weiser, who tore a ligament in his knee and will be missing well into the new year.

Predicted lineup

Zetterer - Agu, Stark, Friedl, Wöber - Bittencourt, Lynen - Grüll, Schmid, Mbangula - Topp.

Those injuries certainly affect Bremen’s starting lineup.

The aforementioned Steffen loves a 4-2-3-1, and he utilized that set up in pre-season. It was announced on Sunday that Michael Zetterer will be the number #1 option in goal, keeping his spot ahead of phenom Mio Backhaus. Whether he can maintain that throughout the season will be something to watch out for.

Captain Marco Friedl will be the focal point at the back. There's going to be a good battle for the spot next to him at centerback, with Niklas Stark currently having the edge over Amos Pieper. Felix Agu will swap over to right-back to cover for Weiser, which allows Oliver Deman or Maximilian Wöber to slot in at left-back.

One of the two defensive midfielders will be Senne Lynen, and when Stage is available he’ll take up the other spot. While he’s gone, the experienced Leonardo Bittencourt is expected to cover, but youngster Skelly Alvero could get the nod. In front of them will be Romano Schmid, and he’ll have plenty of focus on him as the team’s attacking midfielder.

Mbangula slots in on the left-wing, and it seems Marco Grüll is the first-choice option on the opposing wing. As things stand, Keke Topp is slated to lead the line, but if a new signing comes in then they’ll likely take that spot in the starting lineup.

It’s a team that has plenty of promise and potential, but it’s also one that could struggle, especially early on. Their new tactical set-up is very different to what they are used to, and patience will be needed from everyone involved, including players, staff, and supporters.

Potential predictions

That makes Bremen a hard team to predict. As a supporter myself, I’d love to say everything will go well, but I need to remove any of my personal bias and optimism.

The best case scenario? This is finally the year they qualify for Europe. Steffen’s Elversberg team last season played some really pretty attacking soccer, and he’s got even more talented players to call upon this time around. That covers the frontline, and if Marco Friedl stays healthy he can lead the backline to results.

The worst case scenario? Werder are dragged back into the relegation battle. The squad still seems too good to actually go down, but plenty of sides like them have found themselves too close for comfort when it comes to the bottom three.

Maybe’s Steffen system doesn’t work at the highest-level, and the spaces left at the back are too much to overcome. Their big-money move for Mbangula could blow up in their faces if he can’t adapt to life in Germany, and a few more injuries on top of the ones they already have could lead to turmoil.

At the end of the day, it’s very likely we get a bit of both. Bremen will have some games where they look like a top-tier team, and they’ll have some games where it looks like they forgot how to kick a soccer ball. There will be some sort of European push, but it will fall short down the stretch. That’s been the case the last few years, at least.

A rivalry renewed

There’s one last thing to keep an eye on when it comes to Werder this season.

For the first time since 2017/18, we will get to see the Nordderby in the Bundesliga. Hamburger SV, known to many as Hamburg, finally secured promotion back to the first-division last campaign. That means the two bitter rivals will get to face off once again.

While each team will have their own goals and aspirations this season, they both feel like one job is mandatory. They have to win the derby.

Bremen will fancy their chances since they’ve been a Bundesliga side for much longer, but they know they’ll have to be at their best if they want to beat down their Northern neighbors.

The first contest will take place in Hamburg on December 6th, and the return fixture in Bremen will be on April 16th.

Circle your calendars, everyone.