Leverkusen vs. Wolfsburg preview: A company club battle
Desperate Leverkusen play at home on Matchday 11 to Wolfsburg, who are also in dire need of points to distance themselves from the relegation zone.
| Robert Andrich. | Photo: Bayer 04 Leverkusen |
Bayer Leverkusen
All was thought to be back to normal following Leverkusen's dominating win over Schalke just a couple weeks ago in Xabi Alonso's debut. But, after back-to-back hammerings by Porto and Frankfurt, Die Werkself fell harshly back down to reality.
Because of their loss to Elversberg in the first round of the DFB-Pokal, Alonso finally had an entire week to implement his tactics. Leverkusen are off to their worst Bundesliga start in 40 years and must sure up the defense, while getting their main man going on the offensive end.
Patrik Schick is really struggling in front of goal with just two goals in ten league matches this season. The 16th-place side will again emphasize the link-up play between Moussa Diaby and Jeremie Frimpong on the right wing to create chances, which will give Schick more opportunities to get out of his slump.
In his press conference, Alonso stated that, "We understand the current mood of our fans. We intend to answer with performance on the pitch. - We need 95 very good minutes tomorrow, maximum concentration and a good body language to bring this energy into the stadium."
Team News
Piero Hincapie is suspended after his red card last week, while Florian Wirtz, Karim Bellarabi, Exequiel Palacios and Sardar Azmoun are all still out.
VfL Wolfsburg
Wolfsburg haven't lost in their last six games at the BayArena and are coming off some encouraging performances. They defeated Eintracht Braunschweig to advance in the Pokal this week and have claimed at least a point in their last three league matches.
The likes of Yannick Gerhardt, Mattias Svanberg and Jakub Kaminski are really starting to round into form and provide a bit of hope after Niko Kovac's difficult start to the season. Jonas Wind is fit once again, but he's unlikely to receive a starting nod this early into his return.
Earlier this week, Kovac proclaimed that, "We should have had more points, but I am satisfied with the development of the team. - We are here!"
Team News
Patrick Wimmer is unavailable after suffering an ankle injury midweek, while Bartol Franjic is questionable with a calf issue. Jerome Roussillon remains out and Max Kruse is of course no longer a part of the squad.