UCL: Werder Bremen V Tottenham Hotspur – Tuesday, 14th September

Werder Bremen V Tottenham Hotspur

Tuesday, 14th September – 19:45 GMT
LIVE on Sky Sports 4

UEFA Champions League: Group A

Werder Bremen

Bremen will look to capitalise on their opponents lack of Champions League experience on Tuesday night when they clash with England’s Tottenham Hotspur in Germany, where the advantage of playing on home soil in front of a packed out Weserstadion should play into their hands as they look to begin life in Group A with a bang.

Finishing as Germany’s third best last term, Werder Bremen, like Spurs, had to go through the play-off route before booking their place in the draw for the group stage. However, their qualifying opponent posed more of a threat on paper than that of Tottenham’s, and so it proved to be the case, as Bremen needed to show some of the courage and determination which had seen them participate in five of the previous six competitions to oust Italian side Sampdoria, with Bremen scoring in extra-time to clinch the tie 5-4 on aggregate. A player at the heart of their qualifying success was former Chelsea forward Claudio Pizzarro, the focus point of Bremen’s forward play but is set to miss this Group A opener with a thigh problem, meaning Marko Arnautovic will deputise up front in a three proned Bremen attack.

The team sporting their famous green colours haven’t exactly sprinted out of the blocks domestically, registering just one league win from their opening three games, but spirits will be high nonetheless following their hard-fought 0-0 draw away at champions Bayern Munich at the weekend. However, their only victory of the season to date did come at home in the form of a 4-2 win over FC Koln, while their record at home throughout the previous term sets them up to be a tough nut to crack in Europe this season when playing at the Weserstadion, where Thomas Schaaf’s players suffered just three defeats in the league last term and have lost just once there in 2010.

Werder Bremen manager, Thomas Schaaf, was dealt a blow when Per Mertesacker was ruled out of Tuesday’s game along with fellow centre-half partner Naldo. However, that is nothing compared to his opposite numbers injury woes, and Schaaf will consider himself lucky that he still has his major components fit and healthy for this Champions League curtain raiser, with Tim Borowski, Torsten Frings, Aaron Hunt and Marko Arnautovic all raring to go, while a player we feel could shine on the night is German international Marko Marin; a player similar to that of Theo Walcott, boasting an abundance of pace but whom has more vision and guile than his English counterpart.

Tottenham Hotspur

It’s been a long time coming for Tottenham fans, with their 48-year wait for a return to Europe’s top table finally coming to end as the boisterous Harry Redknapp broke England’s top-four seal and claimed their berth into the play-off’s for the UEFA Champions League. However, their European dream did tilt at one stage, a 3-2 loss in the play-off with Young Boys from Switzerland leaving the English side with all to do in the second leg, but Spurs ran out convincing winners back at White Hart Lane and fans were left breathing a huge sigh of relief as well as rejoicing at the fact that Tottenham will be competing for Europe’s biggest club prize this season: The UEFA Champions League.

The likelihood was that Tottenham Hotspur were always going to get a difficult group what with them being only seeded in pot 3, and they’ll do well to escape a Group A containing two domestic champions and recent Europa League losing finalist. As Spurs begin their Champions League campaign with a trip to the Weserstadion, home of German side Werder Bremen, the prospect of facing Italian and reigning European champs Inter Milan should have Spurs fans frothing at the lips, while the crunch encounters will be their fixtures with Dutch champions FC Twente, whom provide Spurs with an ample opportunity to put some vital points on the board although the Dutch champs won’t roll over at Tottenham’s expense.

First up though is that of Germany’s Werder Bremen, who like Tottenham had to come through an agonising two-legged play-off before sealing their rightful place in the groups. And also like Spurs, have made a sluggish and unconvincing start to the new term, with Harry Redknapp’s side currently floundering in mid-table in the English Premier League after managing just one win in their opening four league fixtures. Any chance of collecting some potential crucial momentum was thwarted at the weekend with a 1-1 draw at newly promoted West Brom, while before the two-week international break Spurs were overhauled on home soil by a poor Wigan Athletic side, so it really has been an inconsistent start to the season for Tottenham Hotspur, who maybe forgiven for having one eye on the Champions League.

Harry Redknapp has quickly come to realise that the added burden of playing more games, more matches with far more meaning to them, has its drawbacks despite the excitement and prestige which comes with them. Since the start of the season, Harry Redknapp has already seen a number of his key players suffer injury setbacks and will be without several first-team players which would have started Tuesday’s game had it not been for injury. Michael Dawson was the first to be ruled out for a considerable amount of time, picking up a knee injury while on England duty, as did Jermain Defoe, with the pair now out of action for anywhere between two to three months. On Saturday, during the 1-1 draw with West Brom, midfield schemer Luka Modric left the game on crutches leaving Redknapp with a further depleted squad and more selection conundrums.

Match Prediction: Werder Bremen to WIN – 2.20 StanJames

Tottenham were given a brief taster of what life is like at this level, although the thought of playing Young Boys would have left most established sides in Europe licking their lips and desperate to get out on the field of play, whereas Spurs were almost being ridiculed. Of course, Spurs did manage to recover but they display all the characteristic of a team in awe of the competition, and without three influential figures in Michal Dawson, possibly Luka Modric, and Jermain Defoe, getting a result out in Germany in front of a Werder Bremen friendly crowd will be terribly difficult. 

Soccer-Betting Value Bet: Marko Marin Anytime Scorer – 6.50 Boylesports

The German side really should have too much in the tank for Spurs, with Marin in particular our hunch to be the star man on Tuesday night. He has all the raw materials to cause the Spurs defence all sorts of problems, with his pace, quick feet and agility.

Match Odds:

Werder Bremen – 2.20 StanJames
Draw – 3.40 Coral
Tottenham Hotspur – 3.75 SkyBet