With plenty of determination and a bit of luck, the Wolves claimed three points away at Hamburger SV in October last year. When the Rothosen visit the Volkswagen Arena on Saturday (kick-off 15:30) for the second meeting of the season, the team led by head coach Daniel Bauer will be aiming to secure their first win of the second half of the campaign. The numbers provide reason for optimism that the long-awaited victory could come against the promoted side from the north.
Key facts and figures
Promoted teams streak: VfL have gone 18 Bundesliga home matches against promoted teams without defeat – a current club record. The last loss at the Volkswagen Arena against a promoted side came in April 2017, a 1–0 defeat to SC Freiburg.
Ever-present: Kamil Grabara is one of just 17 Bundesliga players who have not missed a single minute this season. In numbers: 2,160 minutes played. Our goalkeeper has also made 92 saves – the second-highest total in the league behind Gladbach’s Moritz Nicolas (97).
Meter by meter: The Wolves have already completed 17,035 intensive runs this season – the fourth-highest figure in the Bundesliga behind Hoffenheim, Bayern and Borussia Dortmund. With a total distance covered of 2,872 kilometres, VfL rank seventh in the league. Hamburger SV sit bottom of the table in both statistics.
Strong record: In the last 15 Bundesliga meetings with the Rothosen, the Green-and-Whites have suffered just two defeats (seven wins, six draws). In the first half of the season, VfL won 1–0 away to the Hanseatic side.
Strong in the challenge: Hamburg’s Luka Vuskovic has the third-best duel success rate in the league at 67.5 percent among players who have contested at least four duels per matchday. Wolfsburg’s most successful player in duels is Moritz Jenz: with 64.2 percent, he ranks eighth in the league.
Fast starters: The Green-and-Whites have already scored eight goals in the opening 15 minutes of matches – only Leverkusen have managed the same tally. However, the Wolves have also dropped 23 points after taking the lead this season.
Dangerous in transition: HSV have already scored 10 goals from counter-attacks – as many as the Hamburg side last managed in an entire Bundesliga season in 2006/07. That year, the club set their record with 13 goals following transition moments.
