German powerhouse Bayern Munich were not in very good form before the break and were also stuck at a really frustrating draw at home in their return. However, they blew off some steam in the Champions League on Tuesday and will now look to keep up the momentum. They will be hosted by Werder Bremen on Saturday, who have been really bad lately. They have won just one of their last five and have been really struggling in the defensive end, and having to face Bayern Munich will only add to their troubles.
Werder Bremen (5-4-3) made an excellent start in the Bundesliga this season as they lost just one of their first nine matches to start the season (6-1-2). However, things took a turn for the worse in the past month, as Werder Bremen have won just one of their last five (1-3-1). That win was a massive 5-1 against SC Weiche for the German Cup, while they have remained winless in their previous four league matches. Last week they played a really balanced game on the road against Freiburg, where they struggled a lot to escape with a point. Their opponents took the lead at the end of the first half, but Werder Bremen barely managed to equalize at the stoppage time for the final 1-1. They have failed to keep a single clean sheet in their last five, but have scored in all those matches too. They are now sitting at the 7th spot of the Bundesliga with 18 points, having scored 20 goals and conceding just as many in the process. They are one point ahead of Hertha Berlin, two behind Hoffenheim and only three points behind Bayern Munich. Werder Bremen have been really mediocre at home so far in the season (2-2-2), where they have scored 10 goals and have conceded 12. They have conceded 9 goals in their last two home matches and have kept just a single clean sheet there all season. They will be missing Bargfrede, Kapino, and Johansson due to injuries, while Bartels and Zetterer are still being listed as doubtful to participate.
On the other hand, Bayern Munich (6-3-3) were in terrible shape (by their own standards) before the break and in their first match after it. They won just one of their last four games (1-1-2) but bounced back with a massive 1-5 win at home against Benfica in the Champions League in their previous match. They were in no mood for upsets in that match and quickly started firing away. Robben found the fountain of youth with two goals by the hour mark, while Lewandowski scored two more (36th and 51st) before Ribery scored another at the end of the match. Last week in the Bundesliga they were held to a really unexpected 3-3 draw against bottom-feeders Dusseldorf. They took a two-goal lead in that match and were actually leading by 1-3 at the hour mark, but their opponents scored two late goals to fore a 3-3 draw. Bayern Munich is now sitting at the 5th spot of the Bundesliga with 21 points, just one behind RB Leipzig. They are already nine points behind arch-rivals and league leaders Dortmund, and now that they have sealed the qualification to the next round of the Champions League they will shift their focus on being better in the Bundesliga. Bayern Munich has been quite solid so far on the road (4-2-0), where they have also recorded two wins for the Champions League and two wins for the German Cup. They will be missing Alcantara, Coman, Hummels, Rodriguez and Tolisso, while Gnabry is still questionable.