Wolfsburg vs Borussia Dortmund Preview: Wolfsburg Aiming to Revisit 2015 Final
Wolfsburg endured a frustrating 0-0 draw against St. Pauli on Saturday, despite having the better chances. Currently sitting 14th in the Bundesliga, coach Ralph Hasenhüttl has struggled to replicate the form that secured a 12th-place finish last season and avoided relegation.
In the Pokal, Wolfsburg managed a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Oberliga side TuS Koblenz, which advanced them to the second round. However, Hasenhüttl’s record in the cup is less than stellar; he has never progressed beyond the second round with any team.
Looking ahead to the matchup against Dortmund, Hasenhüttl remarked, “I’ve seen many strong performances from Dortmund. They possess an incredible amount of quality, and with Guirassy, they have a striker who can change the game on his own.”
Team News
Wolfsburg will be without several players for their clash with Dortmund, including Kevin Paredes, Mattias Svanberg, Sebastiaan Bornauw, Rogério, Bartosz Białek, Niklas Klinger, and Aster Vranckx. However, Lukas Nmecha and Lovro Majer are set to return from injury and will feature in the match.
Borussia Dortmund
Borussia Dortmund faced a surprising setback, losing 2-1 to Augsburg on Saturday, with Alexis Claude-Maurice scoring both goals for the opposition. Despite multiple attempts, including four shots from Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, Dortmund struggled to convert chances into goals.
Dortmund boasts an impressive cup history, having not been eliminated in the second round since 2011. In their last cup outing, they defeated Regionalliga side Phönix Lübeck 4-1, with even non-regular starters like goalkeeper Alexander Meyer and Julien Duranville getting playing time.
Following the Augsburg loss, Dortmund manager Nuri Sahin commented, “The goals we conceded were extreme given the effort we put into the game.”
Team News
Dortmund will be without Karim Adeyemi, Giovanni Reyna, Julien Duranville, Yan Couto, and Niklas Süle for the tie. Julian Ryerson is also a significant doubt, while Sahin is closely monitoring Waldemar Anton and Marcel Sabitzer’s fitness for Tuesday’s match.
