Wolfsburg vs. Dortmund preview: Can the company club continue surprising run?
Wolfsburg haven't lost a competitive match since mid-September, as BVB come to town on Matchday 14, needing a win to continue chasing Bayern in the Bundesliga table.
| Gregor Kobel. | Photo: Steffen Prößdorf, CC BY-SA 4.0 |
VfL Wolfsburg
The Wolves destroyed Mainz over the weekend and haven't lost in their last eight competitive matches. Wolfsburg are now up to 11th in the Bundesliga, as it seems that sticking with Niko Kovac was the right plan after all.
The young, offensive talent in the squad really stands out. Brothers Lukas and Felix Nmecha are finding their form, while new signings Jakub Kaminski and Mattias Svanberg are also showing promise.
As seen on Matchday 13, Maximilian Arnold's knuckling free-kicks are still nearly unstoppable. Micky van de Ven, who has played every minute in league play, has pretty much taken over Maxence Lacroix's position in center defense.
Kovac commented, "We have to get into play better. We haven't done that well in Mainz yet. We could have fallen behind there, but we were lucky on our side. We have to be there from the first minute. Because it is difficult if you fall behind quickly and have to run behind the result."
Team News
Kevin Paredes and Bartol Franjic are out for the rest of 2022, while Josuha Guilavogui won't be in the squad due to muscular problems. Max Kruse is of course not a part of the team.
Borussia Dortmund
Dortmund expectedly took care of business against Bochum on Saturday to keep pace in the Bundesliga title race. They now turn their attention to an improving Wolfsburg side, who want to shock BVB at the Volkswagen Arena.
Youssoufa Moukoko was the standout player this past weekend and has reportedly just received an improved contract offer from the club. In defense, Gregor Kobel has been so good in recent weeks, while Niklas Süle is likely to start yet again on the right.
Marco Reus will play his second game in a row after his long-awaited return from injury, as Dortmund finally don't seem to have picked up any new injuries from their previous match.
Edin Terzic said, "Wolfsburg has made a good and stable impression in the last few weeks. They have little rotation in the starting XI, the lads there have found each other. We're looking forward to tomorrow's task."
Team News
Mateu Morey, Thomas Meunier, Marius Wolf, Tom Rothe, Mahmoud Dahoud, Jamie Bynoe-Gittens and Sebastien Haller are not available.
