Bayern Munich vs. Werder Bremen 11:30 AM Saturday August 15, 2009
by Jason Green of Predictem.com
In the second week of the Bundesliga Bayern Munich hosts Werder Bremen at the Allianz Arena. Both teams are looking for their first win of the season in the German, league as Bayern played to a draw in week one while Werder lost. Bayern may have a little revenge on their mind, as when they hosted Werder last season they were down 5-0 at home before losing 5-2.
Bayern heads into this season with high expectations, as they are the favorites to win the Bundesliga again. Werder was a major disappointment last season and barely qualified for European play and they did not begin the season well with their loss to Eintracht Frankfurt at home. It is a distinct possibility that they will lose to a strong Bayern side, which would mean they would have 0 points after 2 games in the Bundesliga. Bayern tied last week to a tough Hoffenheim club, but they were away and were happy to come away with at least 1 point.
Bayern needs to establish home dominance in the Bundesliga, as last season even though they were the best away team they only were the 5th best home team. Werder was shaky on defense in their first game and they must shore up their defense soon or they will be several points behind the leaders in the Bundesliga season right from the start.
Bayern are the favorites in this match posted at 1.65 with Werder at 4.75 and a draw at 3.75.
Bayern Munich Recent Form:
8/8/2009 Hoffenheim 1-1 Bayern Munich (Bundesliga)
8/2/2009 SpVgg Neckarelz 1-3 Bayern Munich (DFB Pokal)
7/30/2009 Bayern Munich 1-1 (6-5 penalties) Manchester United (Audi Cup)
7/29/2009 Bayern Munich 4-1 AC Milan (Audi Cup)
7/24/2009 Bayern Munich 13-0 McFit All-Stars (Friendly)
Werder Bremen Recent Form
8/8/2009 Aug Werder 2-3 Eintracht Frankfurt (Bundesliga)
8/2/2009 Union Berlin 0-5 Werder Bremen (DFB Pokal)
7/28/2009 Werder Bremen 2-2 (2-4 penalties) Valencia (Emsland Cup)
7/26/2009 Alemannia Aachen 3-2 Werder Bremen (Friendly)
7/23/2009 FSV Frankfurt 1-2 Werder Bremen (Friendly)
Bayern Munich does not come into this match in full form, as during the week Martin Demichelis suffered injured ankle ligaments and Mark van Bommel broke his toe last weekend in the game against Hoffenheim. Two of Beyern’s biggest stars, Luca Toni and Frank Ribery, will not start, as each has minor injuries.
Werder may miss Naldo in this match, which would be a big blow as the Brazilian is still nursing a hamstring injury. Last week against Frankfurt Sebastian Proedl received a red card so he will miss this match. Daniel Jensen and Markus Rosenberg will also miss this match due to injuries.
The Werder offense does not have the firepower they did, as Diego is gone and Claudio Pizarro will not play, as Werder is still trying to get him on a loan from Chelsea.
Tim Weise was not solid in goal last week giving up 3 goals at home and he will have to play better this week. Even though Bayern will be without Ribery and Toni they still have a legit offense and Weise will be tested all match.
Since Bayern’s Mark van Bommel is injured off-season signing Anatoliy Tymoshchuk will have his chance to shows what he has. If he plays well he may claim a starting defensive midfielder spot, but if he struggles to control the midfield and shore up the defense he may be headed for the bench.
Midfielder Tim Borowski may look for a little revenge after being dumped by Bayern after last season after only one season with the club. He is back with Werder and has something to prove. He will have to control the midfield and set up the forwards.
Bayern will look to score in this game, as they need 3 home points. They will have to be careful of a counter attack from Werder.
Werder will be happy with a draw in this match, so look for their midfielders to drop back on defense and try to thwart the Bayern attack.
Hugo Almeida and Marcelo Moreno will be counted on to give Werder some offense, but they may have to drop back to play some midfield defense if Bayern dominates the ball.
Jason’s Pick: Even though Bayern will miss a couple of their better players they still have a better club and they are at home. Werder does not have a solid attack, but they do have a solid defense. I see a low coring game, but for Bayern to come out on top by a score of 1-0 or 2-1.