Werder Bremen vs SC Paderborn 07 preview - Skripnik wants to pay back Bremen

Posted Saturday, November 29, 2014 by PA

It has been a week of mixed news for Werder Bremen with first the defeat in the northern Germany derby to Hamburg and then the news that top-scorer Franco Di Santo has been ruled out for the rest of the year due to injury.

Coach Viktor Skripnik and his assistant Torsten Frings then signed new contracts until 2017 and they will be hoping to pay the club back immediately with Saturday's visit of Paderborn to the Weserstadion.

"We're delighted with the faith that has been shown in us," said Skripnik. "We have an incredibly strong bond with this club and we will do everything we can to get back on a winning path.

"We want to get out of the relegation battle as soon as we can and develop the team further."

The first priority is picking up three points against Paderborn to stand any chance at all of leaving the bottom two this weekend, but that is already causing enough of a headache to Skripnik.

"Paderborn's team is very settled and they have a very strong team spirit," said the 45-year-old.

"They are very compact but also play courageous, attacking football. Just the fact that they have 16 points increases the respect a great deal.

"We're going to have to find a good balance between attacking and defending."

Di Franco is not the only player Skripnik needs to replace with Clemens Fritz and Santiago Garcia also missing out due to suspension.

Paderborn coach Andre Breitenreiter is also without three players, including captain Uwe Hunemeier, but he says it is not his side who must be feeling any pressure of expectation.

"We want to win the game, for sure, but it is Bremen who really have to win the game as they are at home," he said.

"What we've achieved so far is already extraordinary."