Werder Bremen will be hoping to continue their remarkable turnaround under manager Viktor Skrypnyk, sitting just four points off the last Europa League spot after being in a relegation scrap before the winter break.

Die Grün-Weißen haven't featured in any European competition since the 2010-11 season, having finished 9th, 14th and 12th since then, and Skrypnyk will want to continue his fine start to his senior management career with a win in Bremen's first ever game at the Beteler Arena.

Having sat bottom when the Ukranian took the job on October 28th, Werder are now seventh after a impressive run under his tutelage, just four points off Augsburg in sixth.

But Skrypnyk will be wanting Europa League football for another reason; with young hotshot Davie Selke already agreed to move to 2.Bundesliga moneybags RB Leipzig, there is doubt over his strike partner Franco Di Santo's future too.

The Argentinian is the top scorer for Bremen this season, having scored 12 goals in the league, and his manager is still unsure of whether Di Santo will be at the Weserstadion next year.

 

Skrypnyk said in his pre-match press conference: "I speak with him all the time and he has made it clear that he won't make a decision until the end of the season.

"I hope that at some point he will come to me and say: ‘I'm staying with Werder'. We accept that (his decision) but the example of Junuzovic (who signed a new contract in February) shows that we can also have hope."

Paderborn, meanwhile, have been the complete opposite since Skyrpnyk took charge, winning just three games and sliding from an impressive seventh to 16th and the relegation play-off place.

Having scored just four goals (both in 2-1 wins over Hannover and Paderborn) since starting the Rückrunde, Paderborn will be just as desperate to take a crucial three points against Bremen in their bid to stay up in their debut Bundesliga season.

And having been on the end of a 4-0 thrashing in the reverse fixture, Paderborn's manager André Breitenreiter said in their press conference "We left too much space at Bremen. We need disciplined defending, and must be very vigliant."

 

 

 

Last time out

Bremen won just their second home fixture of the season by thrashing Paderborn 4-0 in the last week of November and got the perfect remedy to losing 2-0 to Hamburg the gameweek before. 

Zlatko Junuzovic's 10th minute free-kick gave Werder a slender first half lead, but ran riot in the second half as Selke and Fin Bartels made sure, before Levent Aycicek put the gloss on the result as Werder moved out of the relegation zone.  

Team News

Werder will be sweating on the fitness of their set-piece specialist Junuzovic and defender Alejandro Gálvez, who have missed most of the training sessions through the week. 

However, Bartels will definitely miss out, after missing the Nordderby win with ankle ligament damage suffered against Stuttgart.

Yet Skrypnyk has seen the positives of players coming in for those out through injury, with Assani Lukimya coming in for particular praise.

"I'm happy," said Skrypnyk, "for the players that are fighting to get in the side. A good example of that is Assani Lukimya.

"He came on for Jannik Vestergaard in the game against Hamburg and did brilliantly. I'd like to see the same again."

Paderborn could miss striker Srdjan Lakic with a calf injury suffered in training during the week, but Moritz Stoppelkamp should return to the squad, if not the starting lineup, according to Breitenreiter.

Predicted lineups

Paderborn (4-4-2): Kruse- Heinloth, Rafa, Hünemeier, Hartherz- Koc, Bakalorz, Vrancic, Stoppelkamp- Lakic, Kachunga.

W. Bremen (4-3-1-2): Wolf- Selassie, Lukimya, Gálvez, Prödl- Fritz, Bargfrede, Junuzovic- Öztunali- Selke, Di Santo.