The third home match since the winter break takes place this Sunday in the Weserstadion at 18:00 CET. It is an extremely important game for both sides with Werder looking to follow up their away victory against Schalke with their first three points at home in 2018. Naturally Wolfsburg will also be looking to prevent the Green-Whites from doing so. What a match-up we have in store.
The last encounter: On matchday 5 of this season these two sides met in Wolfsburg. The match ended 1-1 with Wolfsburg taking the lead in the first half through Divock Origi, only for Fin Bartels to strike back in the second half with a wonderful headed goal. The Green-Whites kept knocking on the door right up until the final whistle but in the end had to settle with a point. Things did turn out better for Werder on matchday 22 of the previous season however, when the Green-Whites went two goals up early in the first half. Wolfsburg showed some signs of retaliation getting a goal back but in the end were unable to overturn Werders’s dominant first half display.
Florian Kohfeldt on the upcoming match: “I think we have a really good chance to walk away with the three points if we deliver the kind of performance I know we’re capable of.” Kohfeldt went on to say what he think will be the difference between the two sides, “There will be two factors that set us apart; that we have good possession and that we use the ball effectively, to really pull apart that Wolfsburg defense. Our opponents are a very strong counter-attacking side with some good individual talents, so how we defend against the counter is so important.”
Four players must be wary: Four players head into the game just one yellow card away from suspension. For the away side there is central defender Marcel Tisserand who is in danger and for Werder there are Philipp Bargfrede, Florian Kainz and Robert Bauer, who will have to be careful.
Strong at the back: Both sides have impressive defensive records heading into the game on Sunday. Schalke’s goal last weekend was just the 26th goal that Werder have conceded this season; the fourth best record in the league and 16 goals better off than where they were at the same point in last season. The only sides to have a better record than Werder are Bayern, Frankfurt and unfortunately Wolfsburg. Wolfsburg keeper Koen Casteels is solid, however that may change when Jóhannsson, Kruse and co. start firing on Sunday evening.
Referee: Deniz Aytekin will officiate the match on Sunday. The man, born in Nürnberg, is a Bundesliga veteran and has been in the top division for the last ten years. His assistants will be Christian Dietz and Eduard Beitinger as linesmen and Frederick Assmuth as his fourth official, while Günter Perl will take care of the video assistance.
