VfL Wolfsburg vs Borussia Monchengladbach preview: Die Wolfe keen to snap dismal recent record against The Foals | OneFootball

VfL Wolfsburg

Things looked bleak for Wolfsburg until an upturn in form and fortunes around late October enabled Ralph Hassnhuttl to turn it around in Lower Saxony. Saturday’s 1-0 win over TSG Hoffenheim courtesy of a Mohamed Amoura goal got 2025 off to a flying start.

The Algerian joined from Union Saint-Gilloise and spent a period of time on the sidelines nursing an injury before bursting into life. With 6 goals and 7 assists in 14 Bundesliga outings, the 24-year-old continues to deliver the goods for Die Wolfe.

Similarly impressive for some time now has been the services of both Konstantinos Koulierakis and Denis Vavro at the heart of the Wolves’ defence. The Greek and Slovakian duo remain ever reliable for their Austrian head coach.

However, the green-clad side from Lower Saxony have found life difficult against Gladbach in recent history. It seems almost hard to believe but one must go back to December 2019 for Wolfsburg’s last Bundesliga win over Tuesday night's opponents.

On the personnel front, Lovro Majer (torn muscle fiber) continues to be the biggest name on the infirmary list. Elsewhere, full-back Rogerio remains out after knee surgery, with Kevin Paredes and Bartosz Bialek missing with foot and knee injuries respectively. Tiago Tomas will serve a 1-game suspension having accumulated his fifth yellow card of the season against Hoffenheim.

Team News

Head coach Hassnhuttl looks set to continue with a 3-5-2 lineup as Kamil Grbara starts between the posts. Denis Vavro, Sebastian Bornauw and Konstantinos Koulierakis are expected to form the three-man defence.

Tasked with win-back duties are the duo of Kilian Fischer and Joakhim Maehle. Club captain Maximilian Arnold is tipped to play in the heart of midfield alongside Mattias Svanberg and Yannick Gerhardt.

Sources predict a two-man strike force of Jonas Wind and Mohamed Amoura to take the attack to visitors Gladbach.

Borussia Monchengladbach

Head coach Gerardo Seoane was somewhat pleased with several aspects of his side’s hard endeavours against Bayern Munich in spite of a narrow 1-0 defeat as Harry Kane converted a penalty for Die Rekordmeister.

“We are not entirely satisfied because we lost. We didn’t manage to relieve the pressure when we won the ball. We switched to a double pivot in the second-half and I don’t think we allowed much up until the penalty. After that you just saw the quality of Bayern,” explained the Fohlen-elf coach.

Although goals have been hard to come by for Seoane’s men in recent matches, Moritz Nicolas’ exploits in goal have proven inspiring. None more so than his whopping tally of 9 saves against Bayern Munich.

A sub-par away record will be some cause for concern as Gladbach boast a solitary win, two stalemates and four defeats on the road this campaign. Yet the club’s recent success over Wolfsburg will bring added motivation with five victories and four draws dating back to June 2020.

Die Fohlen travel to Lower Saxony with a relatively clean bill of health. The only notable absentee is that of French winger Nathan Ngoumou, with the 24-year-old set to miss out with muscular problems. Both Robin Hack and Joe Scally will be keen to avoid picking up their fifth yellow card which would result in a one-match suspension.

Team News

Nobody can oust Moritz Nicolas from goalkeeping duty at the moment given his fine form. Gerardo Seoane will likely persist with a 4-2-3-1 as centre-halves Nico Elvedi and Ko Itakura are flanked by Joe Scally and Lukas Ullrich.

After the success of the double pivot against Bayern, Rocco Reitz looks set to partner Julian Weigl in the heart of midfield. It appears a rare start for summer signing Kevin Stoeger is in order with Alassane Plea and Robin Hack on the right and left wings respectively.

Having found the net on 9 occasions and assisted 5 in 16 matches, Tim Kleindiendst is set to lead the line for Die Fohlen-elf.