VfL Wolfsburg host Premier League team Brentford at the AOK Stadion on Saturday 23 July (kick-off 16:00 CEST) as part of the club's family fun day. There are even some parallels in the history of the two clubs. A look at the facts and figures on the Bees:
- Like VfL, Brentford played top-flight football for the first time several decades ago – in the First Division from 1935 to 1947. Fifth place in their debut season remains the club's highest ever finish.
- In the years that followed, the Bees suffered decline and spent a long time fluctuating between the third and fourth divisions. Then in 1992, same as the Wolves, they returned – after a 45-year absence – to the second tier.
- After dropping back down the pyramid to the fourth tier, Brentford returned to the Championship in 2014 before achieving promotion to the Premier League for the first time in 2021.
- The West Londoners finished in a respectable 13th place in the 2021/22 campaign. They were aided in the second half of the season by international star Christian Eriksen, who suffered a cardiac arrest at EURO 2020. The Dane recently signed for Manchester United.
- Thomas Frank's side are regarded as a strong unit without household names. The most notable signings of the summer so far are defender Aaron Hickey from Bologna and left winger Keane Lewis-Potter from Hull City.
- There's also a German in the current squad in the form of Vitaly Janelt. The former Bochum man was part of the German squad that won the U21 EURO last year together with Wolves duo Ridle Baku and Lukas Nmecha.
- There is one player who's played for both clubs. Akaki Gogia, who was with the Wolves as a youngster between 2004 and 2011, made 13 appearances for the Bees in the 2015/16 Championship season. The 30-year-old now plies his trade at FC Zürich.
