VfL Wolfsburg vs. RB Leipzig preview: Nkunku is finally back
Leipzig travel to Wolfsburg on Saturday where Christopher Nkunku will make his long-awaited return to action for the first time since tearing a knee ligament back in November.
| Photo: Steffen Prößdorf, CC BY-SA 4.0 |
VfL Wolfsburg
After starting 2023 with 6-0 and 5-0 victories, Wolfsburg lost three straight competitive games and drew to lowly Schalke last weekend. Niko Kovac needs some answers and it doesn’t get any easier against a talented Leipzig team.
Suddenly, Wolfsburg are struggling for goals up front and their back line is starting to look gettable. Lukas Nmecha should see more game time this weekend, while Micky van de Ven and Sebastiaan Bornauw are expected to continue in center defense.
Managing Director Marcel Schäfer said. "A defeat like in Bremen can happen, our performance against Bayern was decent, but the Schalke game was simply not good enough for us."
Team News
The company club have no apparent injuries at the moment.
RB Leipzig
Leipzig must be careful not to look ahead to their Champions League tie against Manchester City on Wednesday. The Red Bull club have dropped to 5th in the table after two straight disappointing results in league play and want to return to top-level European football for another season.
Christopher Nkunku is finally returning to the squad on Matchday 21, but it’s hard to see the Frenchman immediately being thrusted into the starting lineup. Willi Orban will also be back to lead the defense after he missed their previous game to admirably donate stem cells.
When asked about Nkunku, Marco Rose stated, "Christo is a player who can make a difference, which will help us on the weekend and hopefully in the Champions League on Wednesday. It's great that he's an option for us again, because there are not many players as talented as him in European football."
Team News
Captain Peter Gulasci, Dani Olmo and Abdou Diallo are out. Nkunku and Orban will both be in the squad, but Marcel Halstenberg is doubtful. Konrad Laimer will suit up as well.