Bundesliga 2019/20: 1. FC Heidenheim vs Werder Bremen

After their 0-0 draw in the first leg of the promotion playoff, Werder Bremen went to Voith-Arena to take on 1. FC Heidenheim to fight for the final spot in next season’s Bundesliga. Despite only scoring one of the actual goals of their own accord, Werder were able to secure their spot in the Bundesliga for next season with a 2-2 draw against Heidenheim.

This tactical analysis will examine the tactics used by both Florian Kohfeldt and Frank Schmidt. The analysis will look at what both clubs did in order to secure promotion, with Werder ultimately holding Heidenheim off due to the away-goals rule.

Lineups

Heidenheim started in a 4-3-1-2 formation with Kevin Müller in goal. In front of him were Norman Theuerkauf and Patrick Mainka as the centre-backs, with Jonas Föhrenbach as the left-back and Marnon-Thomas Busch as the right back. Sebastian Griesbeck played as the holding midfielder with Niklas Dorsch and Marc Schnatterer as the two midfielders in front of him. Their attacking midfielder, who was in charge of supporting Tim Kleindienst and Denis Thomalla up top, was Robert Leipertz.

Florian Kohfeldt sent his men out in a 4-4-2 with Jiří Pavlenka in goal. The centre-back pairing in front of Pavlenka consisted of Marco Friedl and Miloš Veljković. Ludwig Augustinsson played as the left-back while Theodor Gebre Selassie started as the right-back. The two central midfielders were Kevin Vogt and Maximilian Eggestein, who were supported by Davy Klaassen on the left-wing and Milot Rashica on the right-wing. Werder’s two forwards to start the match were Yuya Osako and Josh Sargent.