The first half of the Google Pixel Women’s Bundesliga season ends in Nuremberg for VfL Wolfsburg Women, as they take on 1. FC Nürnberg at the Max-Morlock-Stadion on Saturday 13 December (kick-off 14:00 CET).
Full energy for Franconia
The second-placed She-Wolves travel to Nuremberg after a disappointing 2-0 defeat at Real Madrid in the UEFA Women’s Champions League. Even before the players returned to Wolfsburg on Wednesday afternoon, they completed a regenerative session in Spain in the morning. The focus was then on recovery on Thursday, enabling Stephan Lerch’s side to recharge their batteries for the Bundesliga game at Nürnberg. There’ll be a final training session on Friday before the team head to Franconia for their final away trip of this year.
Ahead of the match, VfL head coach Stephan Lerch spoke about…
... the team news: “Stina Johannes sustained a facial fracture and won’t be available at the weekend. It’s still unclear how long she’ll be out of action for. Martina Tufekovic will start in goal. Caitlin Dijkstra took a knock to her ankle and is also ruled out for the game at Nürnberg. Because she’s already had pain in the left foot for a long time, she’ll have an operation next week. The medical unit have done a great job in recent weeks of keeping her match-fit. The surgery should ensure that she’s fully fit again in time for the preparations for the second half of the season.”
… FCN: “Nürnberg are incredibly efficient. They can suffer, wait for their moments and then strike with precision. We’re warned and are gearing ourselves up to take control of the game, not allow them to get into it while being clinical with our chances. They defend passionately, stay compact and can sometimes make do with about 20 percent possession – their 5-3 win against Eintracht Frankfurt proved that. We want to keep the tempo high because Nürnberg aren’t necessarily used to the strain of playing in midweek and we want to exploit that possible advantage with our experience.”
