The fixture computer has not been kind to Daniel Thioune. In his first home game as Werder Bremen boss, he gets Bayern Munich. At the Weserstadion. On a 14 game winless streak. Against a side who’ve put 12 past them without reply in the last three meetings.
Welcome to the Bundesliga, pal.
Bremen sit 16th, that dreaded relegation play off spot, level on points with Wolfsburg above them but with goal difference keeping their heads above water. Just. Four time German champions, ever presents in the top flight alongside Bayern for 61 seasons, now staring at the abyss .
The decline is painfully familiar. Hamburg. Schalke. Hertha. Clubs with history, with identity, who changed nothing until everything changed for the worse. Bremen are sleepwalking into the same crisis.
Thioune: “Those who look down can’t see what’s ahead”
The new boss inherited a mess. Horst Steffen lasted 20 games, managed 19 points, and watched his side score just 22 goals all season only three teams have fewer . The summer exit of Marvin Ducksch gutted them. The gamble on Victor Boniface, injury prone and now crocked for the season, backfired spectacularly.
Thioune lost his first game 1-0 at Freiburg. The performance was okay. The result was the same.
“The last thing I want to see is people dropping their heads,” he said afterwards. “Those who look down can’t see what lies ahead. I’ve told the players to believe in the path we’re taking and to trust me.”
Bold words. But belief alone doesn’t stop Harry Kane.
Kane’s Happy Hunting Ground
The England captain made his Bayern debut at this very ground. He’s got six goals and four assists in five games against Bremen . In September, he bagged a brace in a 4-0 rout, reaching 100 goals for the club in record time 104 games, quicker than Ronaldo, quicker than Haaland .
He’s on 24 league goals this season. Eight of them from the spot. Ridiculous.
“He’s the difference,” one scout said this week. “Bremen have scored 22 all season. Kane’s got 24 himself.”
Olise out, Diaz in
Bayern have their own headache: Michael Olise is suspended, five yellows . The league’s top creator, 16 assists this term, Bundesliga player of the month for January again watching from the stands.
But they’ve got Luis Diaz, who’s bagged 13 league goals. They’ve got Jamal Musiala, who runs games. They’ve got depth Bremen can only dream of.
Teenager Lennart Karl is expected to deputise. Bayern don’t miss a beat.
Defensive crisis in Bremen
Amos Pieper is out. Niklas Stark is out. Maximilian Wöber is out. Captain Marco Friedl? Suspended, because he ran his mouth at the ref against Leverkusen and picked up a fifth yellow .
Clemens Fritz, Bremen’s managing director, was furious. “It was just unnecessary and it really infuriated me.”
So Thioune will likely field Julian Malatini and 18 year old Karim Coulibaly at centre back. Against Harry Kane. Good luck.
One to watch except you can’t
We wanted to big up Ibrahim Maza. Bayer Leverkusen’s 20 year old Algerian playmaker, the kid who cites Mesut Ozil as his inspiration, who brings “cheekiness” to the pitch. Two goals, two assists this season, a creative spark in Xabi Alonso’s midfield .
But he’s crocked. Knee problem. Late March return. Another one for the absentee list .
Instead, watch Keke Topp. The 21 year old striker gets another start in Boniface’s absence. Eight Bundesliga games, zero goals. Needs to find something soon.
The numbers don’t lie
Bremen: 19 points from 21 games. Eleven league matches without a win. Four goals in their last six at home. Against Bayern, they’ve lost 26 of the last 28 league meetings .
Bayern: 54 points, six clear of Dortmund. Unbeaten in seven away. Scored 79 goals already. In February.
The Opta supercomputer gives Bremen a 7.9% chance of relegation. Feels generous .
We say: Werder Bremen 1-4 Bayern Munich
There’s no shame in losing to this Bayern side. But there’s danger in accepting it. Thioune talks of fighting, of looking forward, of trusting the process. All fine. All necessary.
But processes don’t stop Harry Kane. And at the Weserstadion on Saturday, with a up defence and a winless run longer than most fans want to remember, fighting might not be enough.
The four time champions are in a relegation battle. Bayern are coming. The only question is how many.
