German Bundesliga - Paderborn vs. Werder Bremen - Preview & Prediction

by Valdis Pans

Paderborn Draw In Leipzig

A fourth draw in the last five games (D4 L1) came about for Paderborn, who held 10-men RB Leipzig to a 1-1 stalemate at Red Bull Arena on Saturday. The hosts opened the scoring 27 minutes into the contest, but started the second half a man down, with Paderborn dominating the last 45 minutes of the game, eventually finding the equalizer through defender Christian Strohdiek, who tied the proceedings with a tap-in during injury-time, thus netting his first-ever Bundesliga goal. The team from North Rhine-Westphalia still sits dead last in the league with a W4 D8 L18 record, eight points below the relegation play-off spot, trailing outright safety by 11 points.

German striking duo of Dennis Srbeny and Streli Mamba lead Paderborn in goals, having found the back of the net on five occasions each. Goalie Leopold Zingerle, meanwhile, sits 7th in the league with 84 saves. He has picked up five clean sheets in 24 games this season, allowing a goal every 48 minutes on average. Paderborn have scored the 2nd lowest quantity of goals so far this year (33), while taking the 13th highest number of shots per game (12.4). The team is 14th in ball possession (46.6%) and 10th in passing accuracy (77.6%).

Bremen Lose Second Straight

Werder Bremen’s hopes of remaining in the Bundesliga for another year was dealt a further blow, as the team recorded its second straight defeat following a 1-0 fiasco to Wolfsburg at Wohninvest-Weserstadion on Sunday, thus going with 11 losses in 15 home matches so far this season (W1 D3 L11). Both sides had an abundance of scoring chances, with the Wolves’ 82nd-minute marker remaining the only strike of the game. Prior to the current skid, the Green-Whites had gone unbeaten for three successive fixtures (W2 D1), but still remain second-bottom with a W6 D7 L17 record, sitting three points off the relegation play-off spot and six outside outright safety.

Kosovar winger Milot Rashica, who is expected to return from an ankle injury, leads Werder Bremen with seven goals, but has failed to get on the scoresheet for 14 straight Bundesliga outings. Goalie Jiri Pavlenka, meanwhile, occupies the 4th place in the league’s goalie chart, having stopped 92 shots in 29 appearances this season. He has registered four clean sheets and gives up a goal every 43 minutes on average. The Green-Whites are bottom of the league in most goals scored this year (30), 13th in most shots taken per game (12.4), 10th in ball possession (48.7%) and 7th in passing accuracy (78.5%).

Prediction

Paderborn are sitting dead last in the Bundesliga without a win in 11 straight games and on paper seem like the best opponent Werder Bremen could get at the moment to end a two-game skid. Still, performance-wise Paderborn have definitely been the better team compared to the Green-Whites, earning four draws in their last five outings. They have also gone unbeaten for two straight matches against Werder Bremen (W1 D1) and can undoubtedly accomplish to record at least a point against a team, which has managed to score just a single goal across its very last four fixtures.

Best bet:

Paderborn Double Chance (Win or Draw) (-170)