Defending champions Bayern Munich will aim to make up some ground in the title chase when they travel to Volkswagen Arena to take on VfL Wolfsburg on Wednesday night.
After making a bright start to the 2023/24 campaign, winning four of their opening six Bundesliga matches, Wolfsburg’s form have since been up and down after winning just two of their last nine games, losing three of their last five in the process. And Wolfsburg will aim for some stability when they take on Bayern Munich at the Volkswagen Arena on Wednesday.
Die Weissgrunen lost in extra time to Borussia Monchengladbach in the DFB-Pokal Last 16 and followed it up with another 1-0 defeat at home against Freiburg in the Bundesliga last weekend. With pressure mounting on Niko Kovac, they did pull off a resilient 1-0 victory over Darmstadt last time out to shoot into the top half, as they currently sit ninth in the Bundesliga table and nine points above the bottom three.
Bayern Munich, meanwhile, bounced back from the abject 5-1 defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt to ease past high-flying VfB Stuttgart with a 3-0 victory on Sunday. It was a crucial win for Bayern since they could not afford to see Bayer Leverkusen move further away from them in the points table.
They also breezed their way to the UEFA Champions League knockout stage and have been tipped as a serious European contender in the New Year. The Bavarians boast a stellar record against Wednesday’s hosts, including an action-packed 4-2 victory when they last travelled to the Volkswagen Arena back in early February.
In fact, Thomas Tuchel’s troops have remarkably not sustained a single domestic defeat against Wolfsburg since way back in August 2015. Here at The Hard Tackle, we will run the rule over these two sides ahead of their very important clash in the Bundesliga this midweek.
Team News & Tactics
VfL Wolfsburg
Lukas Nmecha, Amin Sarr (both knees), Patrick Wimmer (ligament), and Rogerio (hamstring) are all nursing injuries and are not expected to return until the New Year, while Wednesday’s hosts will be without star defender Maxence Lacroix after picking up a red card in Saturday’s win at Darmstadt. He will likely be replaced by Cedric Zesiger in Niko Kovac’s back three.
Kovac has implemented a mix of 3-5-1-1/3-5-2 formations with a clear focus on his team’s intensity behind the ball so they can defend in a compact, mid-to-high press to force their opponents wide for wingbacks to exploit. Goalkeeper Koen Casteels is a certainty between the sticks for the hosts.
The back three, comprising Moritz Jenz, Cedric Zesiger, and Sebastiaan Bornauw, will be flanked by full-back duo Ridle Baku and Joakim Maehle. Maximilian Arnold will be the chief ball progressor from the deeper zones.
An elite progressive passer, he likes to receive the ball with his left foot and ping precise long balls with his right or left foot. He will be supported by Aster Vranckx and Yannick Gerhardt as the midfield trio looks to shield the backline while helping out in the build-up play.
In attack, Jonas Wind has stepped up with the goods in the absence of talismanic striker Lukas Nmecha, scoring nine goals and providing four assists this season. Wolfsburg will be hoping that he can maintain his goalscoring form here against Bayern.
Probable Lineup (3-5-1-1): Casteels; Bornauw, Jenz, Zesiger; Baku, Gerhardt, Arnold, Vranckx, Maehle; Majer; Wind
Bayern Munich
Thomas Tuchel must be desperate to get to the winter break given Bayern Munich’s mounting injury list, and Die Roten have another tricky fixture against their former boss on Wednesday.
With Noussair Mazraoui, Bouna Sarr, Serge Gnabry, and Kingsley Coman all unavailable due to injury, things seemingly went from bad to worse with the news that Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goeretzka would be late withdrawals due to illness.
Tuchel had no choice other than to ring in the changes. Konrad Laimer came in to replace Mazraoui as right-back. Jamal Musiala shifted to the right wing as Thomas Muller got the start as the number ten.
For the first time ever, the starting midfield double pivot featured veteran Portuguese international Raphael Guerreiro and 19-year-old German under-20 international Aleksandar Pavlovic, who grabbed this opportunity with both hands as he has done in the previous games this season.
Pavlovic looked calm and composed with the ball in a deeper role. He kept things ticking in the centre of the park and could continue in the team alongside Guerreiro if Kimmich and Goretzka are not fully fit.
In fact, it won’t be a surprise if Tuchel picks an unchanged starting XI for this game. On paper, the formation looks as usual: 4-2-3-1. But, quite often, with Bayern conceding possession, it evolved into a 4-4-2, with the wing-backs overlapping whenever the opportunity arose.
Harry Kane, who overcame flu symptoms to become the quickest player to reach 20 Bundesliga goals with Bayern Munich last weekend, seemed to thrive working with Leroy Sane, Thomas Muller, and Jamal Musiala, a combination not often used together by Tuchel this season. The attacking trio brought creativity, activity, and energy to the pitch that was perhaps absent in some of the team’s previous matches.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Neuer; Laimer, Kim, Upamecano, Davies; Guerreiro, Pavlovic; Musiala, Muller, Sane; Kane
Key Stats
- Bayern Munich have won ten of their last 11 matches against Wolfsburg in all competitions.
- There have been over 2.5 goals scored in 17 of Bayern Munich’s last 18 Bundesliga games.
- Bayern have scored in 41 straight games in the Bundesliga, last failing to find the net in September last year.
- The Bavarians rank first in the Bundesliga in goals scored with 47 in 14 games, while VfL Wolfsburg are eighth in goals conceded with 25 in 15 games.
Player to Watch
Harry Kane
After a three-game scoreless streak, Harry Kane rebounded with a brace during his team’s 3-0 victory over an overwhelmed VfB Stuttgart side last weekend. Putting the ball into the back of the net would be immense for his confidence after a mini-slump as he looks to go on another remarkable goalscoring streak.
In total, the England captain has scored 24 goals and eight assists in 21 games across all competitions, including 20 goals and five assists in 14 Bundesliga games.
Prediction
VfL Wolfsburg 1-3 Bayern Munich
Bayern Munich cannot afford to slip up like they idd agaist Eintacht Frankfurt here, with Bayer Leverkusen only four points ahead of them in first place. The German champions may not be at their best right now. But they obviously have a high-quality team, at least on paper, and should be able to show their high-quality attacking arsenal to take care of business at the Volkswagen Arena.