David Wagner: Mati will play if training goes well

The Royal Blues will have Matija Nastasic available again in Bremen. The Serb is back in training after an Achilles problem. Juan Miranda (ankle) is also an option after his recent injury issues.

“Mati is free of pain. He will play if the final training session goes well,” explained Wagner, who recently had to play midfielder Weston McKennie at centre back alongside Ozan Kabak. This was down to the fact that Salif Sané (knee) and Benjamin Stambouli (foot) have been out for several weeks with their long-term problems.

Alessandro Schöpf won’t feature in the wohninvest WESERSTADION at the weekend, as the 25-year-old picked up a muscle injury against Düsseldorf and subsequently missed Austria’s Euro qualifiers during the recently concluded international break. Nassim Boujellab is also an absentee with a calf strain.

International players all fit

Wagner confirmed that there were no further injury concerns: “All of our international players have returned fully fit.” Ahmed Kutucu and Weston McKennie haven’t yet trained with the team since returning though. “I expect them to have no problems and be with us in Bremen,” explained the coach.

Werder are currently 14th in the table, well below their aspirations for the season. Despite that, Wagner was quick to show caution ahead of tomorrow’s game: “Their seven-game winless run has included a lot of draws. They have a lot of quality, although they have had their problems recently. Nevertheless, it’s always tough at their place. We are still confident we can go there and win though.”