Bremen coach Thomas Schaaf is in determined mood (©Getty Images)

Schaaf sets sights on Barça surprise

Werder Bremen are hoping to end a run of five matches without a win when they welcome FC Barcelona to the Weserstadion in the second round of Group A games on Wednesday night with Thomas Schaaf confident his side can spring a surprise against the UEFA Champions League holders.

High expectations
Last season's Bundesliga runners-up have not won since overcoming Bayer 04 Leverkusen on 19 August but Schaaf believes his team can come good against the Spanish champions. "To be honest it doesn't really matter whether we are the underdogs or not," he said. "We demand a lot of ourselves and we want to live up to those expectations against Barcelona."

Clean sheet ambition
The Bremen coach has drawn confidence from an improved performance in Saturday's 1-1 draw at Hamburger SV and from the way his men acquitted themselves in defeat at Chelsea FC on Matchday 1. "We played well against Chelsea but didn't get the right result," he explained. "We also played well in Hamburg and took a point, so we must remember the good things, put Barcelona under pressure and keep a clean sheet."

Mertesacker debut
Schaaf is likely to have three key figures available with Per Mertesacker poised to take over from Petri Pasanen in central defence for his first Bremen appearance since his summer move from Hannover 96. "Petri has the qualities to be a dominant figure at the back but hasn't played as well as we know he can," said Schaaf, who is also able to welcome back Miroslav Klose and Diego, who has recovered from a minor injury.

Rijkaard modesty
Bremen's boss makes Wednesday's visitors, together with Chelsea, his favourites to win the competition but his opposite number Frank Rijkaard refuses to agree. "It is much too early to decide on a favourite," he said. "It's early days in the Champions League and there are a lot of games to play."

Saviola omitted
Javier Saviola made his first Barça appearance in 854 days when he featured as a late substitute in Sunday's 1-1 home draw with Valencia CF although the Argentina striker misses out in Germany as Rijkaard continues to rotate his players. "Just because Saviola didn't make the squad this time doesn't mean he's out of the side completely," the Dutchman said. "We have numerous good players and it's important to rest them from time to time."

'Right mentality'
Rijkaard and company defeated Bremen twice in last season's group stage and, although the coach is full of respect for the German outfit, he insists his players have retained their hunger despite lifting two successive Primera División titles and the UEFA Champions League trophy in May. "Bremen are an excellent side and made life hard for us here last term. I'm sure they've learned from the experience of playing against us, but my players are by no means satisfied with what we've achieved so far and we'll continue to work hard to meet our own expectations. These players have definitely got the right mentality."

Probable teams
Bremen: Tim Wiese; Clemens Fritz, Per Mertesacker, Naldo, Pierre Wome; Frank Baumann, Torsten Frings, Tim Borowski, Diego; Miroslav Klose, Ivan Klasnić.

Barcelona: Víctor Valdés; Gianluca Zambrotta, Lilian Thuram, Carles Puyol, Giovanni van Bronckhorst; Andrés Iniesta, Edmílson, Deco; Lionel Messi, Samuel Eto'o, Ronaldinho.