The Wolves welcome FC Hansa Rostock to the AOK Stadion (kick-off 16:00 CEST) in their first friendly of pre-season on Saturday. The game will give new VfL head coach Oliver Glasner his first opportunity to see his players in match action following a week of hard work on the training pitches.
Several absentees
Glasner currently has 20 outfield players at his disposal for the encounter with Rostock. However, first-team regulars Marcel Tisserand, Felix Uduokhai, Xaver Schlager and Josip Brekalo are not expected to return to training before next week, while a number of others are set to miss the game with minor injuries.
The encounter comes too soon for goalkeeper Koen Casteels and John Anthony Brooks - despite the duo being back in training - while Maximilian Arnold (who is set to return to training next week) and Daniel Ginczek (who had to pull out of VfL’s first training session) remain sidelined. Defender Robin Ziegele will provide back up from the Under-23s against a side that finished sixth in Germany’s third division last season.
Forty-five minutes for everyone
“I always tend to approach friendlies in the same manner,” Glasner said ahead of his first appearance in the Green and Whites’ dugout. “We’ve been working on things in training this week and I want us to put those things into practice out on the pitch.”
Every player is set to be given 45 minutes to impress, although Glasner confirmed that some of his charges may have to play “in unfamiliar positions” against Rostock.
