Unbeaten Dortmund host a Bremen midfield stripped to the bone
Borussia Dortmund open Bundesliga matchday five against Werder Bremen at Signal Iduna Park on Friday, 9 October 2026, with kick-off at 20:30 CEST. Niko Kovač’s side are top with four wins from four, while Daniel Thioune’s Bremen arrive eighth on seven points but with eight players ruled out and the memory of a 7-0 friendly defeat at FC Twente still fresh. Christian Dingert is the referee.
Werder have lost their entire first-choice central midfield: Senne Lynen, Jens Stage and Skelly Alvero are all out in Dortmund.
Predicted lineups: Dortmund vs Bremen
Kovač had 20 players away on international duty, and several arrived back with knocks. Nico Schlotterbeck turned his ankle with Germany and was due to rejoin team training on Thursday before a joint decision with the medical staff, while Julian Ryerson took a blow on Norway duty and is a doubt. Daniel Svensson and Kostas Karetsas returned with colds, Carney Chukwuemeka with a minor muscle issue, and Ramy Bensebaini and Mathis Albert only flew back from Algeria and the USA this week. Bremen have Karl Hein fit in goal, but Thioune must rebuild his midfield around Youri Regeer and Ludovit Reis.
Borussia Dortmund Team News & Preview
Twelve points from twelve looks emphatic, but Dortmund’s start has been built on control rather than domination. They led the xG count in all four league games, yet two of those wins were close: they came from 2-0 down to beat Hoffenheim 3-2 in Sinsheim, where both sides created four big chances, and they edged Stuttgart 1-0 through Maximilian Beier’s 70th-minute goal with 1.33 xG to 1.15. The home wins were cleaner, 2-0 against Hamburg and 3-0 against Paderborn, who did not manage a single shot on target.
The bigger question is freshness. Kovač openly criticised the length of the break, and his back line depends on Schlotterbeck, whose 7.99 FotMob rating is the highest in the squad from his two league appearances. If Ryerson also misses out, there is no natural right-sided replacement since Yan Couto left for Como, which is why Beier has been mentioned as a wing-back option. Serhou Guirassy, with two goals and two assists, remains the reference point up front, and Fábio Silva has already scored twice in only 109 minutes.
What works for or against Dortmund
- Four wins from four league games with only two goals conceded and three clean sheets.
- Bremen's injury list removes their three regular central midfielders, the area Dortmund usually win games through.
- Schlotterbeck and Ryerson are doubts, and 20 players only returned from international duty this week.
- The 3-2 win at Hoffenheim and 1-0 at Stuttgart show Dortmund do not always pull clear of good sides.
Werder Bremen Team News & Preview
Bremen’s league form before the break was decent: a 3-1 home win over Leipzig with only 29% of the ball, a 1-1 at Köln and a comeback from 2-0 down to beat Augsburg 3-2. The break then went badly wrong. A 7-0 defeat at Twente led to a crisis meeting, Thioune called the squad very self-critical and described the trip to Dortmund as a self-test. He also called Kovač’s side the best team in the league.
The injury list is the real issue. Lynen is out with pelvic problems, Stage and Salim Musah with thigh injuries, Alvero picked up a calf problem this week, and Agu and N’Diaye are missing in defence. That leaves Regeer and Reis as the midfield pair in front of a back four that conceded four at Freiburg on the opening weekend, where Yuito Suzuki scored a hat-trick and Bremen managed 0.54 xG. Marco Grüll (two goals, four assists) and Niclas Füllkrug (three goals) carry the attack, and Füllkrug returns to the stadium where he used to play.
What works for or against Bremen
- Eight players unavailable, including Lynen, Stage and Alvero in central midfield.
- Two away league games have brought one point, five goals conceded and 4.02 xG against.
- Grüll and Füllkrug have been involved in nine league goals between them and Bremen have scored in three of four games.
- Karl Hein is fit to start in goal after a strong individual session this week.
Dortmund vs Bremen Odds
Match Result
Double Chance
Handicap
Over/Under
Both Teams to Score
Half-Time/Full-Time
Dortmund vs. Bremen Stats Comparison
Show Recent Results
Dortmund vs. Bremen Form Guide
Dortmund Form, Stats & Data
The gap between 0.50 goals conceded per game and 1.08 xGA is the one area I would not read too literally. Dortmund have allowed chances, especially at Hoffenheim, and Gregor Kobel and a back three led by Waldemar Anton have done a lot of work. Going forward the numbers are steady rather than spectacular: 1.66 xG and 6.5 shots on target per game, with Dortmund happy to play without dominating the ball. Against a Bremen side shorn of its midfield screen, that profile should translate into more clear chances than usual.
Bremen Form, Stats & Data
Bremen score enough to make this awkward, but 1.66 xGA per game is a problem even with Lynen and Stage on the pitch. Without them, the platform for Grüll, whose 8.35 FotMob rating is the best in the squad, becomes much weaker, and the side has already shown on the road that it can be opened up. The home win over Leipzig came from defending deep and finishing well rather than from controlling the game, which is a hard plan to repeat at Signal Iduna Park with this injury list.
Dortmund vs Bremen: Prediction & Betting Tip
For me, the decisive factor is Bremen’s midfield. Losing Lynen, Stage and Alvero in the same week strips out the players who protect the back four, and Werder were already conceding heavily away from home: four at Freiburg and 4.02 xG against across their two league trips. Dortmund have won every league game, create around 1.7 xG per match and have Guirassy and Silva in form.
The strongest argument against is Dortmund’s own condition after the break. Schlotterbeck and Ryerson are doubts, several internationals only arrived back mid-week, and Bremen have scored in three of four games, with Füllkrug and Grüll capable of punishing any lapse. That is why I prefer the Asian Handicap at -1 rather than -1.5: a two-goal win pays out, and a one-goal win returns the stake.
I will be backing Dortmund -1 Asian Handicap at 1.50 with Winz. If I had to name a score, it would be 3-1.