Borussia Dortmund vs Werder Bremen LIVE - Confirmed starting lineups & pre-match updates for Bundesliga clash

Borussia Dortmund return to Bundesliga action on Friday night. They welcome Werder Bremen to the Westfalenstadion following the September-October international break. Niko Kovač’s men have made an impressive start to the campaign, winning all four of their opening matches while keeping three clean sheets.

They will be eager to extend that perfect record, amidst injury concerns that complicate their preparations. Julian Ryerson, Daniel Svensson, Nico Schlotterbeck and Kostas Karetsas remain doubtful. Late fitness assessments are set to determine their availability.

Emre Can and Filippo Mané are confirmed absentees due to knee and thigh injuries, respectively. Dortmund can, however, draw confidence from their remarkable record in Friday fixtures and their strong home history against Bremen. They have suffered just two defeats in their last 10 Bundesliga meetings with them on home soil.

Meanwhile, Werder Bremen arrive in Dortmund with eight points from their opening fixtures. Additionally a sense of renewed confidence following their dramatic 3-2 comeback victory over FC Augsburg before the international break. Marco Grüll played a decisive role in that result, scoring once and providing two assists.

However, Daniel Thioune’s side will be looking to put their disappointing 7-0 friendly defeat to FC Twente behind them as they resume competitive action. Injuries have also weakened Bremen’s options, with Felix Agu, Skelly Alvero, Jens Stage and Senne Lynen ruled out. Meanwhile, Justin Njinmah is a doubt, and Keke Topp remains sidelined with an ACL injury.

Despite their recent setback, Bremen will hope to produce a much stronger performance against an in-form Dortmund side.

Recent results

Dortmund’s last victory came against VfB Stuttgart. It was a 1-0 win on 19 September. In their last five outings across all competitions, they have only seen euphoric results – all wins. Three of those games ended with clean sheets.

Meanwhile, Bremen’s last win also came on 19 September. A 3-2 victory over FC Augsburg. In their last five outing across all competitions, they have managed only two wins (3-2 vs. Augsburg and 3-1 vs. RB Leipzig).

Two games ended in defeats (7-0 vs. Twente and 4-1 vs. SC Freiburg). Only one game ended in a draw (1-1 vs. FC Koln)

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