The Wolves' last Bundesliga encounter of 2018 is a trip to Augsburg on Sunday 23 December (kick-off: 15:30 CET). At his press conference ahead of the game, VfL head coach Bruno Labbadia spoke to the assembled media about …
… playing a day before Christmas Eve: "It is what it is. We started taking measures a few weeks ago, sorting out logistics such as the holiday schedule and individual training regimes for the players. We're now looking forward to Sunday's game and have time to celebrate Christmas after that."
… Sunday's match: "Augsburg work very, very well. That's what sets the club apart. Throughout their Bundesliga history they've always had moments where results haven't been quite right, but they've always remained very calm and managed to work things out. They've grown together as a team and have good players. It's going to be a game between two evenly matched sides with a lot of challenges and at a high intensity. It's exciting to have one last intense encounter before the break."
… the Wolves' points tally: "Our current points haul is just reward for the team. It gives us a good feeling and shows we have everything in our own hands. It's nice to have 25 points that we fully deserve."
… personnel: "Josip Brekalo is unavailable – he isn't allowed to over-exert himself before Sunday. Ignacio Camacho also misses out, but things are looking good for Marcel Tisserand. The fact that he hasn't featured of late is merely a precaution due to his previous injuries. He might have been able to play the last two games if he'd had to, but we weren't in a position where we had to play him. The break has also done Jerome Roussillon good. We now need to wait and see what happens on the pitch, where the intensity is a little higher. It's not 100 per cent certain that he'll feature."
