Werder Bremen take on Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga on Saturday, with the visitors looking to remain top of the table with a victory.
Bremen, meanwhile, have all but wrapped up survival after moving 11 points clear of Arminia Bielefeld and the relegation zone by beating them in midweek.
Match preview
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Florian Kohfeldt can breathe a huge sense of relief after guiding his side to seven points from their last three league games, with any concerns of being dragged into another relegation battle firmly put to bed.
Bremen could currently be on a three-match winning streak had Jiri Pavlenka not spilled Noah Katterbach's harmless cross into the path of Jonas Hector, who could not believe his luck when tapping into an empty net to claim a point for FC Koln last weekend.
However, Kohfeldt's players put that result right by beating Arminia 2-0 on Wednesday, in a match which was originally due to be played last month before it was postponed due to heavy snowfall. Joshua Sargent scored for the third successive game, with Kevin Mohwald sealing the victory after Nathan de Medina had been sent off for the hosts.
Sargent and Mohwald's goals were Bremen's only shots on target throughout the 90 minutes, so it would be fair to say Die Werderaner rode their luck at times. Kohfeldt has clearly learned from last season, though, when they ended up involved in a relegation playoff, making them tougher to beat and more ruthless in transition. Those qualities will certainly be required to gain a positive result against Bayern on Saturday.
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Indeed, Bayern showed their immense talent levels and mental resolve in all of its glory by coming back from 2-0 down to defeat Borussia Dortmund 4-2 in Der Klassiker last weekend.
Erling Braut Haaland struck twice within the opening 10 minutes for the visitors, first from distance before a superb counter-attack found the Norway striker on the edge of the six-yard box to double BVB's lead.
However, Robert Lewandowski hit back with two goals of his own before the break, with superb wing play from Leroy Sane finding the Poland striker at the back post, before a clumsy tackle by Mahmoud Dahoud allowed Lewandowski to level the proceedings from the penalty spot with his 30th league goal of the campaign.
The second half understandably struggled to live up to the heights of the first period, with a share of the spoils looking increasingly likely until Leon Goretzka's 88th-minute volley snatched victory for Hansi Flick's side, before Lewandowski wrapped up his hat-trick with a powerful hit from distance to rub salt in Dortmund's wounds.
Flick may be concerned that his side have failed to keep a clean sheet in each of their last five matches, but on the flipside 17 goals scored across those games is hugely impressive. There may be no side in Europe who can live with their attacking potency on their day, but defensive errors could end up costing them dearly with RB Leipzig breathing down their neck in second place and a Champions League to retain.
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Team News
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Bremen will be without Michael Zetterer due to an elbow injury, but otherwise Kohfeldt looks to have a clean bill of health to choose from.
The 38-year-old will likely continue with Sargent and Milot Rashica in attack, with the duo's pace potentially causing problems in behind Bayern's high defensive line.
Bayern, meanwhile, will travel without Jerome Boateng after the defender sustained a knee injury in the win over Dortmund.
Corentin Tolisso, Douglas Costa, Alexander Nubel and Tanguy Nianzou remain sidelined, but Benjamin Pavard should be involved after recovering from COVID-19.
Werder Bremen possible starting lineup:
Pavlenka; Veljkovic, Toprak, Friedl; Gebre Selassie, Eggestein, Mohwald, Schmid, Augustinsson; Rashica, Sargent
Bayern Munich possible starting lineup:
Neuer; Pavard, Sule, Alaba, Davies; Kimmich, Goretzka; Sane, Muller, Coman; Lewandowski
We say: Werder Bremen 1-3 Bayern Munich
Bremen drew the reverse fixture 1-1 so clearly have the armoury to hurt Bayern, but we expect the Bavarians' offensive talent to overpower the hosts.
Kohfeldt's side are all but safe now so can play with a degree of relaxation, which should only help the visitors, who need to win to keep ahead of Leipzig.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Bayern Munich win with a probability of 77.1%. A draw had a probability of 13.8% and a win for Werder Bremen had a probability of 9.13%.
The most likely scoreline for a Bayern Munich win was 0-2 with a probability of 9.72%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-3 (9.12%) and 1-2 (8.68%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (6.17%), while for a Werder Bremen win it was 2-1 (2.75%). The actual scoreline of 1-3 was predicted with an 8.1% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Bayern Munich would win this match.
