Almost exactly a year ago – on 20 February 2018 – Bruno Labbadia took over as VfL Wolfsburg’s head coach and oversaw of his first match three days later, a 1-1 draw with Mainz. Fast-forward 12 months and the two sides meet again, and this time the Wolves boss and his players are hoping for all three points. A win would also end the unusual run of six consecutive draws between the two sides, while another stalemate would set a new Bundesliga record. In Friday morning’s press conference, Labbadia talked about…
… Admir Mehmedi’s possible comeback: “Admir's been able to complete the last two training sessions. It looks like he’ll be available, but we need to wait until the end of the day. He didn’t play a great deal of football last year and that’s a shame. He’s not had many injuries in his career so we hope it’s settled down now.”
… the likelihood of changes: “We always look at performances in training during the week and whether anyone’s feeling tired, but we put in a good performance at Freiburg and dominated the second half in particular, so there’s no reason for major changes.”
… the opposition: “Both teams are having a decent season. Mainz have a very solid look about them, although their last couple of games haven’t been as good. They’re a team who know what they have to do to survive in the Bundesliga. They approach their work with high intensity and they even had some good chances during the defeat to Leverkusen, so I’m expecting a tight match tomorrow. They’re a tough side to break down.”
… the significance of the match: “It’s a Bundesliga game and that’s always special. I feel like I’ve already been here much longer than a year. Up to now it’s been an intense period in which we’ve experienced a lot together.”
