Wolfsburg vs. Gladbach preview: Under-fire Kovac badly needs a result
High-flying Gladbach are off to Wolfsburg, who have slightly improved in recent weeks, but desperately need a statement win to completely turn their season around.
| Niko Kovac. | Photo: Sven Mandel / CC-BY-SA-4.0 |
Wolfsburg
With a win and a draw from their last two games, Niko Kovac has earned a bit of breathing room at the company club. But, Wolfsburg have still disappointed in all areas of the pitch to start the campaign.
Yannick Gerhardt’s play has impressed in recent weeks, but he could really use some offensive help from a team that have only recorded nine goals in nine games. Maxence Lacroix leads a very thin center-back group that rank 5th worst in goals conceded thus far.
Several weeks ago, Kovac despairingly stated, “We have the squad that we have." He then added, "We're just not ready to show the basics that you need in football: passion, camaraderie, the mentality, the sacrifice. I miss that."
Since, Wolfsburg have recorded seven points from their last four games, which matches Gladbach’s total from the same interval.
Team News
Max Kruse is still not a part of the team, while it’s too early for Jonas Wind to return.
Gladbach
After an abysmal performance against Werder Bremen, Gladbach came right back in a dominating Rhine derby win last weekend. The trio of Marcus Thuram, Jonas Hoffmann and Ramy Bensebaini have combined for 12 goals and four assists to begin league play.
Although he’s the shortest (in height) Bundesliga goalkeeper this season, Yann Sommer has been nothing short of phenomenal and should make things tricky for Wolfsburg. Gladbach are hoping to claim their first win in the last six meetings against the green company club.
With three points, Die Fohlen could also potentially jump into the Champions League places.
Coach Daniel Farke said that, "Wolfsburg have a very clear way of playing football and creating their chances. It hasn't been effective in every game, but the last couple of matches have shown us that they're on their way up. We've generally been strong away from home this season, though."
Team News
Joe Scally and Kouadio Kone should feature, while Christoph Kramer is doubtful. Ko Itakura, Hannes Wolf and Florian Neuhaus are out with long-term injuries.
