Red-hot Werder Bremen seek to avoid a massive slip-up on Saturday when they travel to third-from-bottom Nürnberg in Bundesliga action.
Since losing their first game of the year, Bremen have rolled off a 16-match unbeaten run in all competitions, a record that has seen them rise to third in the Bundesliga just a point behind the leaders.
It has been quite the opposite for Nürnberg, who languish in the drop zone with only one win in their last five league games. They were beaten 3-0 at Hoffenheim last weekend.
Nürnberg have a short list of absences for Saturday's game as Ilkay Gundogan misses with a foot injury and Marcel Risse is held back after picking up a knock.
Bremen are without Claudio Pizarro, Hugo Almeida, Marcelo Moreno, Torsten Öhrl and Sebastian Prödl.
It will be asking a lot of Nürnberg to snap Bremen's hot run on Saturday. Bremen are on a mission and are playing as well as anyone in Europe at the moment.
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