Wolfsburg vs Borussia Dortmund preview: BVB look to end winless run

Wolfsburg will aim to get their push for European qualification back on track as they face a Borussia Dortmund side aiming to end their winless run at Volkswagen Arena on Sunday.

Wolfsburg

Whilst the scoreline painted a different picture, Wolfsburg’s 3-2 away defeat against Freiburg was arguably flattering considering the overall performance of die Wölfe, with Wolfsburg scoring twice between the 75th and 83rd minute after the hosts raced to a three-goal lead by the hour mark. 

Despite obvious disappointments regarding the performance, Wolfsburg remain just two points behind sixth-placed VfB Stuttgart and three points adrift of Freiburg, with the two Baden-Württemberg clubs currently occupying the Bundesliga’s Conference League and Europa League qualification spots.

Wolfsburg have scored 31 goals in the league whilst conceding 25, making them the fourth-best attacking team whilst being the sixth worst defensively. The club had also enjoyed a strong run prior to their defeat in Freiburg, winning five consecutive matches and remaining unbeaten in eight matches across all competitions. 

Home form has also been particularly solid, with three consecutive victories at Volkswagen Arena. Wolfsburg have also beaten Sunday’s opponents at home this season already, having beaten Dortmund by a goal to nil in the DFB-Pokal thanks to a Jonas Wind goal in the 117th minute.

Team News

Wolfsburg will be without several key players this weekend, including goalkeeper Niklas Klinger, as well as defenders Sebastiaan Bornauw and Rogerio. 

Ralph Hasenhüttl is likely to field Kamil Grabara in goal behind a backline of Kilian Fischer, Denis Vavro, Konstantinos Koulierakis, and Joakim Maehle. 

Kevin Paredes, Bartosz Bialek and Lovro Majer will all miss out, whilst Maximilian Arnold is expected to partner Bence Dardai and Mattias Svanverg in midfield, with Aster Vranckx being unavailable.

Borussia Dortmund

After letting a lead slip in the 91st minute last time out against Hoffenheim, Nuri Sahin questioned the mentality of his players, expressing his frustration to reporters following the shocking draw at Westphalenstadion.

Sahin was cited saying that “it was a very weak performance. Maybe the weakest performance of the season. The goal did us good, but only for a short period.”

Die Schwarzgelben have scored 25 goals in the Bundesliga, placing them as the joint sixth-best offensive side in the league. However, BVB are winless in their last four matches across all competitions, with three draws and one loss to Barcelona in the Champions League. Sahin’s side have also been held to 1-1 draws in each of their last three league matches.

They have, however, shown recent improvement on the road after huge question marks surrounding their away form during the early days of Sahin’s reign. Dortmund have won and drawn in their last two away matches after suffering defeat in their previous six away games prior.

Team News

The visitors will be without defenders Niklas Süle and Julian Ryerson. However, Ryerson is expected to return soon. In defence, Nico Schlotterbeck may be paired with midfielder Emre Can, whilst Yan Couto and Ramy Bensbaini operate out wide as fullbacks.

Pascal Groß and Felix Nmecha could operate as a double pivot in midfield, while attackers Maximilian Beier, Giovanni Reyna, Jamie Gittens and Serhou Guirassy take up positions in the forward line of Borussia Dortmund.