The Wolves will be aiming to register their first competitive victory of 2019 when they welcome Bayer Leverkusen to the Volkswagen Arena on Saturday 26 January (kick-off 15:30 CET). Like VfL, Peter Bosz's team are eager for points after slipping to a narrow defeat in their first league encounter of the new year. At Thursday's press conference ahead of the game, Wolves boss Bruno Labbadia discussed …
… how he thinks the game will play out: "If you look at the playing styles of both teams, you might assume that the game will finish 0-0. I am expecting something to happen, though. No matter how many goals go in, I'm sure that the teams' approaches will make it a very intense encounter. It'll boil down to who makes fewer mistakes and who makes better use of the chances afforded to them by their opponents. It's going to be a very exciting game."
… Saturday's opponents: "Bayer started the second half of the season with an unnecessary defeat, despite playing well. We know that Leverkusen are a strong team. It's always been clear that they're capable of playing good football. Now they also have a new head coach, who has altered their playing style a little bit. Leverkusen play a high-pressing game and do their best to push forward as a team. It's good that we've had time to watch them play that way."
… how to handle mistakes: "We try to encourage the players to find their own solutions. That's what we do in training, while also suggesting potential solutions ourselves. That's why we have to put up with mistakes and always encourage our players – even if something goes wrong, which hasn't been the case very often up to now. I want the players to know that they have our full support."
… the personnel situation: "Ignacio Camacho underwent surgery on Wednesday. We will have to see how quickly he recovers. Sebastian Jung has been unable to take full part in training this week – he's been training separately. Marcel Tisserand hasn't been able to do several sessions in a row yet, which is why he's a doubt for Saturday."
