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Werder Bremen-Borussia Dortmund Preview: Sahin prepares for BVB return
The Turkey international is available for the first time since completing a loan move from Madrid, but is likely to start from the bench as Dortmund look to take three points
By Daniel Edwards
Gebre Selassie, Prodl, Sokratis, Schmitz
De Bruyne, Hunt, Elia
Piszczek, Santana, Hummels, Schmelzer
Blaszyczykowski, Gotze, Reus
Borussia Dortmund prodigal son Nuri Sahin has completed a move back to Germany after enduring a frustrating time with Real Madrid, but may have to bide his time before making his first appearance back in BVB colours.
The creative midfielder is expected to start from the bench against Bremen, as Dortmund prepare for their first outing since bidding farewell to 2012 with an emphatic 5-1 victory over Hannover in the DFB Pokal. Neven Subotic is injured, and will be replaced by Felipe Santana.
Werder Bremen finished the year on a low-key note, drawing 1-1 at home to Nurnberg, with Nils Petersen rescuing a point two minutes from the end. The striker will begin 2013 as the hosts' solitary forward.
The team will be almost identical to that last seen in December, with one possible change being the entrance of Clemens Fritz from the start in place of Marko Arnautovic.
|DID YOU KNOW?|
- Bremen have won just once in their last five Bundesliga outings, a run that has seen the side slip from sixth to 12th in the standings.
- A leaky defence has been the downfall for die Werderaner. They have conceded a disappointing 29 goals in 17 games, the third-worst record in the entire championship.
- Werder's last meeting with Borussia Dortmund ended in defeat. An early goal from Marco Reus (right) and an Ilkay Gundogan strike condemned the side to a 2-1 defeat on the first weekend of the 2012-13 season.
- Dortmund enter the new year a daunting 12 points behind leaders Bayern Munich, and currently lie in third place after winning back to back titles in 2011 and 2012.
- The German champions have already lost 3 matches this season, the same number they lost in their entire 2011/12 campaign.
- The side's scoring ability is one consolation for coach Jurgen Klopp. Only Bayern have outscored BVB so far, with Robert Lewandowski (nine goals) currently the team's top marksman in the Bundesliga.
Top 3 Predictions
Werder Bremen 1-3 Borussia Dortmund
- 25.2 %
Werder Bremen 1-2 Borussia Dortmund
- 13.11 %
Werder Bremen 0-2 Borussia Dortmund
- 10.08 %
|1. Bundesliga (GER1)||19-Jan-2013||Werder Bremen 0 - Borussia Dortmund 5|
|1. Bundesliga (GER1)||25-Aug-2012||Borussia Dortmund 2 - Werder Bremen 1|
|Club Friendlies (FR)||05-Aug-2012||Borussia Dortmund 3 - Werder Bremen 3|
|1. Bundesliga (GER1)||17-Mar-2012||Borussia Dortmund 1 - Werder Bremen 0|
|1. Bundesliga (GER1)||15-Oct-2011||Werder Bremen 0 - Borussia Dortmund 2|
|18-May-2013||FC Nürnberg 3 - Werder Bremen 2||GER1|
|11-May-2013||Werder Bremen 1 - Eintracht Frankfurt 1||GER1|
|04-May-2013||Werder Bremen 2 - TSG Hoffenheim 2||GER1|
|27-Apr-2013||Bayer Leverkusen 1 - Werder Bremen 0||GER1|
|20-Apr-2013||Werder Bremen 0 - VfL Wolfsburg 3||GER1|
|23||Theodor Gebre Selassie||Defender|
|6||Kevin De Bruyne||Midfielder|
Times In IST
Live Final scheduled Suspended Cancelled Postponed