Bremen covet 'Wunder von der Weser'

Werder Bremen need another 'Wonder of the Weser' if they are to overturn a 2-0 UEFA Cup deficit at home against Rangers FC and book a place in the quarter-final draw.

Wondrous results
The Weserstadion – named after the river that backs on to the ground – has witnessed some thrilling European comebacks over the years, but two stand out. In the 1988/89 European Champion Clubs' Cup first round Bremen fought back from 3-0 down against Berliner FC Dynamo with a 5-0 second-leg win and they did it again in the 1999/00 UEFA Cup third round, a 4-0 home triumph over Olympique Lyonnais cancelling out a 3-0 loss.

Big test
Both games earned the title of 'Wunder von der Weser', two more entries for the pantheon of memorable matches at the stadium that, it was revealed on Tuesday, is set for a €60m revamp. Many believe another minor miracle is needed if the Bundesliga side are to progress, yet midfielder Daniel Jensen feels the task facing his side is less daunting. "There have been enough ties which have been turned around after teams have been two goals down," he said. "We have shown that we are capable of scoring two goals and we believe that we can do that again, even if there are only 20 minutes left to play."

'We need a win'
A 6-3 weekend defeat at VfB Stuttgart has taken some of the wind out of Werder's sails, with Jensen saying: "We need a win. The mood within the team is not so great after losing back to back matches. You can see that players are not happy because we have invested so much but not got much in return. Everyone wants to improve." They will have to do so without Ivan Klasnić, who has strained a muscle in his left thigh, and while Clemens Fritz returns from injury, Boubacar Sanogo, Petri Pasanen and Frank Baumann remain doubtful.

Siege mentality
Rangers striker Jean-Claude Darcheville has not travelled because of a hamstring injury and with fellow forward Daniel Cousin having fractured his jaw after scoring in the first leg, Lee McCulloch is likely to start in attack. Rangers assistant manager Ally McCoist expects Bremen to test his side to the limit. "Whenever they attacked [at Ibrox] it looked as if they were going to score, and it's certain they'll go for us straight from the kick-off," he said. "It will be the first time this team has had to withstand a barrage of attacks right from the word go and it will take concentration to go through."