Werder Bremen faces Augsburg at the Weserstadion on September 1st, 2019.
Werder Bremen
SV Werder Bremen was founded in 1899 and is a mainstay in the Bundesliga for a long time. They were one of the most successful teams during the 2000s decade but they have not qualified and played for a European Competition since 2011. That drought looked to an end the last term but they were edged out by a solitary point. Now it’s back to the drawing board for head coach Florian Kohfledt.
Werder Bremen is a four-time Bundesliga champion although they last won during the 2004 season. They also finished as runners-up on seven other seasons and won the 2 Bundesliga title in 1980/81. Werder Bremen have won the DFB-Pokal six times while finishing in second place on four occasions. They won the UEFA Cup Winners Cup in 1991/92 and the UEFA Intertoto Cup in 1998.
Learning under the Peruvian tactician is Sargent who is looking for a breakout season along with Milot Rashica. The USA international started his Bundesliga career with a bang, scoring on his first touch of the bench during a 3-1 win over Fortuna Dusseldorf and doubling his tally two matches later against RB Leipzig. With the departure of Max Kruse, there is plenty of opportunity for Sargent to shine and it looks like his coach will oblige.
Augsburg
FC Augsburg was founded in 1907 and is the largest football club in Swabian, Bavaria. The club has moved back and forth in the second and third divisions for a long time. They experienced difficulties during the early 2000s before suffering relegation to the fourth division for two seasons. But since then, they have recovered, got promoted and returned to the Bundesliga in 2010/111. They finished in 15th place during the previous season and enter this match-up as the soccer betting underdogs against Werder Bremen.
Augsburg finished as runner-up during the 2011 2.Bundesliga season. They were also Bayernliga (III-IV) Champions four times and runners-up once. Augsburg has also won the Schwaben Cup a total of 13 times. They qualified for the UEFA Europa League in 2015/16 but were eliminated in the round of 32.
Alfreo Finnbogason was Augsburg’s top scorer last season with 10 goals scored in league competition. The 30-year old from Iceland also scored 12 goals for the club in 2018 and has delivered a total of 32 goals in four seasons for Augsburg. Marco Richter is also a key player for Augsburg in the final third. Richter scored twice against Eintracht Frankfurt and VfB Stuttgart during the end of last season. Those goals were the difference in keeping their Bundesliga spot this year. Richter was Bundesliga Player of the Month nominee for April 2019.
Who Wins?
Werder Bremen enter this match-up as the favorites but they have lost four out of their last seven matches across all competitions. On the other side, Augsburg has won just twice in their last 10 matches, going 2-2-6 during that period. Head to head, these clubs have split their last 10 meetings but Werder Bremen has won the last three, conceding just three goals in three matches.
With little activity in the transfer market, continuity is going to be a big factor for Werder Bremen. Last season, they were so close to returning to European competition and only one point separated them from Eintracht Frankfurt. Florian Kohfeldt has done a wonderful job for this squad and he was rewarded with a contract until 2023. Prediction: Werder Breman