Wolfsburg vs Union Berlin preview
One man will be in the spotlight on Saturday, when Max Kruse faces his former side.
Kruse surprised many after departing Union Berlin in January to join Wolfsburg's fight against relegation.
Will Kruse haunt his former side? Or, will Union leave with all three points?
Kruse surprised many after departing Union Berlin in January to join Wolfsburg's fight against relegation.
Will Kruse haunt his former side? Or, will Union leave with all three points?
Wolfsburg
Seven points from their last four games has helped to alleviate Wolfsburg’s relegation fears. However, with five points separating them from the relegation playoff spot, Wolfsburg are not out of the woods quite yet.
They spurned a two-goal lead last weekend, when they faced fellow strugglers Borussia Mönchengladbach. Jonas Wind scored his second goal in a Wolfsburg shirt before Sebastiaan Bornauw doubled the advantage. However, Marcus Thuram cut the deficit in half before the break, and Gladbach snatched a point thanks to Breel Embolo’s late leveller.
Wolfsburg will be looking to bounce back from those dropped points, but they will not be encouraged by the fact that they have scored just 13 home league goals this season – only Arminia Bielefeld and Greuther Fürth have netted fewer.
Kruse will start against his former side, but the Wolves will be without the services of Paulo Otávio and William due to injury issues, while Maxence Lacroix is suspended following a red card last weekend.
Union Berlin
Union Berlin enter the contest in seventh place with just three points separating them from the top four. Confidence will be high in the home dressing room after Union eased past Mainz last weekend before edging out St. Pauli in the DFB-Pokal quarter-finals in midweek.
Die Eisernen kept their cup dreams alive after they came from behind to beat St. Pauli 2-1, thanks to goals from Sheraldo Becker and Andreas Voglsammer.
Despite enjoying a memorable week, Union will not look forward to an away contest on Saturday after losing their last two away games. Although, a win would complete a league double over Wolfsburg following Union’s 2-0 win in the reverse fixture in October.
Urs Fischer will be unable to call upon Keita Endo and András Schäfer, who are both ruled out due to injury problems.