Wolfsburg preview
Second against third. The top of the table clash will take place on Saturday (15:30 CEST) between VfL Wolfsburg and Hertha BSC.
Prior to this season, VfL Wolfsburg encountered two extremely nerve-racking seasons as they just manage to steer clear of relegation. It was not clear to people but Wolfsburg are actually in their 22nd Bundesliga season. Since their rise 21 years ago, the same time as Hertha, both teams belonged to the workforce in German football. Games between the two teams were always a popular event, even when Hertha were relegated. “Their current position is of course a positive sign following the difficult phases that they have been through and it certainly gives them more motivation to do well,” said Hertha centre-back Niklas Stark. Herthabsc.de summarised what the Berliners will have to do on Matchday 3.
The sporting situation: Wolfsburg have beaten two Champions League teams in FC Schalke (2-1) and Bayer Leverkusen (3-1) this season already and have also beaten SV Elversberg (1-0) in the DFB-Pokal. The start of the new season has shown a completely different Wolfsburg team to the team that have struggled in the past couple of seasons. “We have shown a lot of strength since our relegation battle and moreover the team worked really hard during the pre-season,” said Bruno Labbadia. Since hiring Bruno Labbadia in February, the team have been much improved and already have six points on the board.
Players who have played in both teams: After ten years at Hertha, John Anthony Brooks joined Wolfsburg in 2017. “I was always happy with him and so I always let him play,” said Pál Dárdai. In his first season with Wolfsburg, the 25-year-old was injury ridden and could only complete twelve games. However, this season the American has been playing well, has stayed injury free and even scored a goal in the opening game against Schalke. Peter Pekarik and Alexander Esswein are the two other players who have played for both teams. Their highlight for them with Wolfsburg was winning the Bundesliga in the 2008/09 season.
The opposition: When head coach Bruno Labbadia arrived in Wolfsburg, he had to deal with a lot of unrest from the fans. The team then went on to win only one of his first ten games in charge, but survived in the relegation play-off against Holstein Kiel. In pre-season, Labbadia was adamant that such a season would not happen again. “He almost made us hate him on purpose. He brought us together as a team with his hard work,” said midfielder Yannick Gerhardt.
Past encounters: Hertha BSC and VfL Wolfsburg have been in the same league as each other almost every year since 1992. Overall, the two teams have played each other in 48 league games over 26 years, with Hertha winning 20 of these games. Wolfsburg last won the fixture three years ago, with both matches ending all square last season. The top scorers in the fixture are Michael Preetz and Marcelinho, with five goals each. The Brazilian appeared for both teams during his career. “I think it’ll be a good, high-scoring game, and hopefully we’ll come out on top,” said Dárdai.
Opinion on Hertha Berlin: They have a very strong defence and are the only Bundesliga team to have not yet conceded a goal this season. “Hertha are a team that know how to defend well, mainly because they are organised and prepared,” said Bruno Labbadia. The Wolfsburg head coach therefore expects a real challenge. “After all, both teams will go into the game full of confidence so it will be an exciting game,” said the 52-year-old.