Women

Full focus on top-of-the-table showdown

VfL Women head coach Tommy Stroot gives his thoughts ahead of the match against Bayern Munich.

The marquee fixture in German women’s football is just around the corner once again as VfL Wolfsburg Women host Bayern Munich at the Volkswagen Arena on Saturday (kick-off 17:45 CEST). Approximately 17,000 spectators are expected to attend this Google Pixel Women’s Bundesliga Matchday 6 encounter.

At his pre-match press conference, head coach Tommy Stroot discussed…

…team news: “There hasn’t been much change in terms of personnel following the game against Roma. Caitlin Dijkstra, Camilla Küver, Kristin Demann and Ariana Arias are unavailable, but it’s looking like Luca Papp could return. I deliberately say ‘could’ because we’ve still got two training sessions before the game, and we’ll need to wait and see how her ankle reacts to those.”

…the atmosphere in the team: “After the defeat against Roma, we said that the way we played was OK but that we still have to bring more power into our attacking play and take more steps forward. So we need to have greater stability in that regard, and to improve.”

…what the keys to success will be on Saturday: “It’ll be important to defend compactly. For example, in the Frankfurt game we let them create clear-cut chances too easily, so that’s also something we need to stabilise. On top of that, we’ll need to make the most of any scoring opportunities we get. Being clinical is so important in big games like this. Those are two big issues that we’ll need to find a balance for.”

…VfL’s situation in general: “In terms of day-to-day life in the league, it’s like I’ve said in recent weeks: Bayern are favourites in the league and Bayern are also favourites in this game. But we’ll do everything we can to win at home in front of our fans.”