UEFA Cup Preview: Werder Bremen – St-Etienne
Both Werder Bremen and St-Etienne are big names in Europe, but are having disappointing domestic campaigns. Both are looking for European glory to brighten up their seasons...
On The Up
Werder Bremen are more used to battling Bayern Munich at the top of the Bundesliga, but this season has seen the Green and Whites struggling to match their own high standards, and Thomas Schaaf’s outfit are down in 10th place.
However, of late Werder have been showing signs of their best football, and none more so than when they knocked Milan out of the UEFA Cup in the last round. A 1-1 draw at the Weser Stadion seemed to have put the Italian side in the driving seat.
And Carlo Ancelotti’s side looked to have booked their passage to the next round when Andrea Pirlo and Pato fired them into a 2-0 lead at the San Siro. However, Claudio Pizarro masterminded a dramatic Werder Bremen turnaround, beating Dida with two second-half headers to send the competition favourites crashing out of the Cup on the away-goals rule.
Werder are in danger of missing out on the top five in the Bundesliga, so will be looking at both the DFB Pokal and the UEFA Cup as other routes to securing European football next season.
Europe Provides A Welcome Break
The UEFA Cup remains the bright spot in an otherwise rather dismal season for St-Etienne. ‘Les Verts’ find themselves down in 17th in Ligue 1 just three points and one place off the relegation places. It is a far cry from their 5th place finish of last season.
The sacking of trainer Laurent Roussey back in November and the hiring of Alain Perrin hasn’t really stopped the rot. Their current form, however, isn’t too bad, and they remain unbeaten in their last five games.
They finished top of their group ahead of Valencia, FC Copenhagen and Club Bruges before two highly impressive matches against Greek side Olympiakos in the round of 32. A 3-1 win in Athens set them up perfectly for the second-leg at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard where they won 2-1 to set up this week's clash with Werder.
Coach Alain Perrin is however not underestimating the challenge that faces his side. “Werder are a team from the Champions League, who have a large physical presence,” Perrin told the club’s official website.
“They know how to play the ball around but they are also athletic with it. Their game is disciplined and precise. It is very difficult to counter their type of game.”
FORM GUIDE
Werder Bremen
07/03/09 Hoffenheim 0-0 Werder Bremen (Bundesliga)
04/03/09 VfL Wolfsburg 2-5 Werder Bremen (Bundesliga)
01/03/09 Werder Bremen 0-0 Bayern Munich (Bundesliga)
26/02/09 AC Milan 2-2 Werder Bremen (UEFA Cup)
21/02/09 Energie Cottbus 2-1 Werder Bremen (Bundesliga)
St-Etienne
08/03/09 St-Etienne 2-1 Nantes (Ligue 1)
01/03/09 Monaco 2-2 St-Etienne (Ligue 1)
26/02/09 St-Etienne 2-1 Olympiakos (UEFA Cup)
22/02/09 St-Etienne 1-1 Bordeaux (Ligue 1)
18/02/09 Olympiakos 1-3 St-Etienne (UEFA Cup)
TEAM NEWS
Werder Bremen
Thomas Schaaf has a few players returning from injury to boost his squad for Thursday’s UEFA Cup tie. Clemens Fritz and Christian Vander are poised to return following spells on the sidelines while Torsten Frings and Claudio Pizarro are also expected to be fit.
The only real doubt for Werder is midfielder Mesut Oezil, who has a knee injury.
Possible Starting XI: Wiese, Fritz, Pasanen, Mertesacker, Naldo, Frings, Baumann, Tziolis, Diego, Pizarro, Almeida
St-Etienne
The main absentee for trainer Alain Perrin is Greek defender Stathis Tavlaridis, who is suspended. His place in the squad has gone to attacker Boubacar Mansaly.
Bafetimbi Gomis (sprained ankle) and Ilan (pain in a leg) have made the trip to North Germany, but it remains unclear whether they will play. Loic Perrin (thigh), Christophe Landrin (adductor) and Sylvain Monsoreau (Achilles tendon) are still unavailable though.
Probable Starting XI: Janot, Varrault, Sauget, Bayal, Dabo, Matuidi, Machado, Payet, Matsui, Ilan, Gomis
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Werder Bremen - Diego
The transfer speculation surrounding Brazilian playmaker Diego never seems to go away and it is widely expected that the Werder midfieler will leave the Weser Stadion for pastures new in the summer. The ideal farewell present for the Werder fans would be the UEFA Cup to go with the Cup Winners’ Cup the Green and Whites won back in 1992.
St-Etienne - Bafetimbi Gomis
Like Diego, it seems only a matter of time before French international striker Bafetimbi Gomis moves on from St-Etienne for a bigger club. He has only scored six goals this season, which is nowhere near the 16 he hit last year, but he remains the dangerman up front for the French side.
PREDICTION
Werder are on the up and are slowly looking to get back to the kind of form which can see them beat anyone. They knocked the UEFA Cup favourites out in the last round, so now must be considered one of the favourites themselves. A home win for me, with a clean sheet as an added bonus.
Werder Bremen 2-0 St-Etienne
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