A regular formation has not yet been found in the defence of SV Werder Bremen. Meanwhile, defender Ömer Toprak, who has returned to training, is making progress.
The differences before the direct encounter on Friday evening couldn’t be much greater. While 1. FC Nürnberg have always had the same players in the starting line-up of the four-man defence (Tim Handwerker, Asger Sörensen, Christopher Schindler, Enrico Valentini) in the past twelve (!) competitive matches in a row, this has only been the case twice so far for SV Werder Bremen in the 2nd division: after the 3:2 win in Düsseldorf on matchday 2 and after the 3:0 win against Heidenheim on matchday 9. In each case, coach Markus Anfang left it to his personnel selection in the following match.
Injury reasons and form fluctuations: No consistency in Bremen’s defence
Other than that, however, Bremen’s regular formation has still not formed, partly for injury reasons (especially Ömer Toprak), but largely also for performance reasons. Milos Veljkovic (874) and Marco Friedl (810) have played the most minutes so far, with the latter often switching between the positions of centre-back and left-back. This also has to do with the so far fluctuating performances of Anthony Jung, who has not yet been able to fully convince at left back. Lars Lukas Mai, who is on loan from FC Bayern, has also had a few outliers in his performances.
The position at right back has been the least consistent: At the beginning of the season, the converted six-man Manuel Mbom played there for three games, followed by Felix Agu twice and then the signed Mitchell Weiser three times. This was followed by two more appearances by Mbom. But because the U-21 international – like Weiser – has so far been below his potential in this position, Agu was again preferred twice.
His role against FC St. Pauli last Saturday was a more offensive one than usual, because coach Anfang had changed the starting line-up to a three-man defence for the first time this season. Friedl played centrally in the build-up to the game with Jung (left) and Veljkovic (right) at his side. With Agu, who often dropped into the back four on the right flank against the ball, and Romano Schmid, who also sometimes moved into a midfield role on the left flank, Werder remained largely flexible.
Toprak continues to make progress
Whether this next variation of Anfangs’s defensive puzzle will now also receive attention in Nuremberg remains to be seen. That continuity can at least be helpful in this respect can be seen, for example, in the only nine goals conceded by the Franconians – best value in the 2nd division; Werder conceded twice as many. On the other hand, there is likely to be one change in Bremen’s starting eleven in the medium term. On the way to his comeback, which has already lasted six matchdays, captain and head of defence Toprak is making progress after his calf injury. So far, he has resumed team training without any complaints, and now it is a matter of making up for the physical shortfall – but a return to the squad before the international break would come as something of a surprise.
