That Fortuna are in a relegation battle in their second season back in the Bundesliga is no surprise. Not only did Freidhelm Funkel’s men overachieve by surviving last season, they did so playing thrilling football while delivering some memorable results against the big hitters of the league. After losing Benito Raman and Dodi Lukebakio in the summer, Dusseldorf have naturally regressed. That they are in a relegation six-pointer against Bremen is altogher more surprising. Florian Kohfeldt’s men were tipped as outsiders for the Europa League but have fallen miserably short of expectations. Kohfeldt’s body of work has resulted in the board being loyal to him. The hope is that Bremen have worked on their defence during the winter break, with their defending at set pieces especially atrocious in the first half of the season. Bremen should know history is no guarantee agaisnt relegation. They only need to look at the example of their great rivals, Hamburg.