VfL Wolfsburg have been on an upward trajectory for over a month now, with their last Bundesliga defeat coming seven matchdays ago. The Green-and-Whites registered comfortable victories at home to VfL Bochum and at 1. FSV Mainz 05 in their last two games, keeping a clean sheet in both encounters. Their next home fixture – the final one of 2022 – is at 18:30 CET on Tuesday 8 November against Borussia Dortmund, and represents a real yardstick for Niko Kovac and his players. At Monday’s pre-match press conference, the VfL boss answered questions on…
…the Wolves’ approach: “We have to perform as a unit, as we’ve done in recent weeks. We’re attacking together but also defending well together. We want to stop Dortmund from playing to their strengths, which they have in abundance. We must also show our qualities because we’ll have our own opportunities with the ball.”
…the BVB game being a yardstick of VfL’s abilities: “A very strong team is coming to Wolfsburg tomorrow. BVB deserve to be at the top. They’re a side with lofty ambitions; a young squad with a lot of experience too. This is a new challenge for us. We’ll give everything we have to hold our own. Our upward trajectory gives us hope and belief that we can match them.”
…room for improvement after Mainz: “We have to start games better. We didn’t do that very well against Mainz. We have to be alert from the first minute, because it’s difficult when you fall behind early on and have to chase the game. Dortmund’s quality is such that they can decide games before half-time.”
…personnel: “Everyone who was available in Mainz is fit. I’m confident everyone will be involved in the final training session today. Only Josuha Guilavogui will miss out tomorrow – he could return at the weekend.”
…possible rotation in midweek: “We have a large squad with a lot of good players, and everyone wants to play. We’ll see how things go in training and talk to one or two players themselves to find out how they are feeling. I feel maybe two or three of our players have had heavy legs of late. We don’t want to take any risks here.”
