The newly-crowned German champions wrapped up the Bundesliga title race in Berlin last weekend and return to the Olympic Stadium Saturday hoping to get their hands on more silverware at the expense of northern rivals and current cup holders Bremen.

Louis van Gaal's team is on course for an unprecedented treble-winning season with the German Cup final coming a week before they contest the Champions League final against Inter Milan in Madrid. While immortality beckons and Internazionale await, van Gaal's Bavarian giants will first have to overcome a resurgent Werder team desperate to retain the German Cup.

While Bayern were slugging it out with Schalke 04 for the championship in the last weeks of the Bundesliga season, Werder Bremen were stringing a set of results together to move themselves up into third place - and thus qualified for the Champions League.

After challenging for the top spot themselves before Christmas, Bremen's form and confidence abandoned them after the winter break and they spent most of January and February fighting to get above sixth. But a scrappy 3-2 away victory over Bochum in March set them back on course and in the seven games that followed, Bremen lost only once.

They now face Bayern at the top of their game with a return to European soccer's premier competition assured.

High-scoring Bremen looking to retain cup

Thomas Schaaf's team have long had the reputation as the Bundesliga's most entertaining team, with their free-scoring exploits matched by a sometimes equally estimable talent for hemorrhaging goals. This season, Bremen once again finished the season as top scorers with the likes of Claudio Pizarro, Aaron Hunt and Mesut Oezil weighing in with their fair share of goals.

With the German Cup being Bremen's one and only chance of silverware this season, Schaaf is unlikely to hold back and will field his strongest possible team with all his creative players on show.

Bremen's midfield enforcers Torsten Frings and Philipp Bargfrede will be employed to confront Mark van Bommel and Bastian Schweinsteiger at the heart of the Bayern team while Germany international defenders Per Mertesacker and Clemens Fritz, supported by the Brazilian Naldo will hope to negate the threat posed by Bayern's potent attack.

However, Bremen let in an average of a little over one goal every game this season, meaning the Werder defense is unlikely to win the match alone, especially with the likes of Arjen Robben and Thomas Mueller in deadly form. As is their usual credo, Bremen will be looking look to outscore Bayern.

Bayern likely to go for broke

With the treble in sight, few would expect Louis van Gaal to be overly cautious against Bremen despite the more glittering prize of the European Cup on the horizon. No team has ever won the Bundesliga, German Cup and Champions League in a single season, and surely the lure of making history will convince the Dutchman to go for gold in Berlin.

Bayern captain van Bommel, who lifted the Bundesliga shield at Berlin's Olympic Stadium on Saturday, warned Werder Bremen that the Bavarians will be going all out to rewrite the record books. "We mustn't take our foot off the gas," he said. "If we ease up now, we'll never pick up speed again."

Despite his desire to create a legacy at Bayern, Van Gaal will no doubt have one eye on the Champions League final on May 22 and depending on how this Saturday's German Cup final pans out, fans may see more influential players make way for substitutes if Bayern look to have victory in sight.

The Bayern coach will be hoping to avoid any injuries and will also hope that the game can be wrapped up in regulation time. Bayern have left it late in a number of important games in recent weeks and a final played into extra time would not be the best preparation for a potentially legendary night in Madrid seven days later.

Author: Nick Amies
Editor: Matt Hermann