VfL Wolfsburg have led the way in Europe for a long time this term. The Wolves suffered their first defeat this season at the end of October with only Juventus having longer unbeaten run in Europe's top leagues. After a dip in form that brought seven defeats in ten league games, the team coached by Oliver Glasner have recently put the next impressive run together: Wolfsburg had not lost a game since the beginning of February – until last Saturday. But even with the 2-0 defeat against Borussia Dortmund, the team from Lower Saxony could claim credit from their display as they did press BVB hard in search of an equaliser during the game. And, in spite of the defeat, Wolfsburg have a good chance of again qualifying for the Europa League. Wolfsburg are still in the competition in this disrupted season: In the event the competition is restarted, the Wolves will have to overcome a 2-1 defeat in the first leg of the Round of 16 against Shakhtar Donetsk.
Oliver Glasner has not changed much in the two-month break in the Bundesliga. One player is currently set to make a second start: Central defender Marin Pongracic joined Wolfsburg from RB Salzburg in the winter break but was quickly sidelined after being sent off in his second Bundesliga match, a 1-1 draw against Fortuna Düsseldorf. Now, after the break, Pongracic is back and he has lined up in the centre of the Wolfsburg defence alongside John Anthony Brooks and produced promising performances.
A former Leverkusen player is also a regular in the starting eleven: Admir Mehmedi, who played for the Werkself between 2015 and 2018 and was the scorer of important goals, is now the all-rounder in the VfL attack. Sometimes on the right, sometimes in the middle, most recently on the left – Glasner moves the Swiss from position to position as required but he almost always plays. That is also due to Glasner frequently changing the system and thereby relying on versatile players. That is Mehmedi. Equally, the ample time on the pitch in the recent past can also be seen as a vote of confidence for the striker with Wolfsburg having a number of specialist options on the flanks with Josip Brekalo, Joao Victor, Renato Steffen and Felix Klaus and the former Werkself player has been preferred week after week.
Mehmedi has one rival less against Bayer 04. Felix Klaus is suspended after picking up a red card after coming on as a substitute against Borussia Dortmund. His coach Glasner assesses this as "a very bitter blow for us as our squad is already decimated." Before the suspension of the league, the season was already over for right back William due to a torn cruciate and last week the previously impressive left back Paolo Otavio suffered an ankle injury in training. "It looks like he will be out for a long time," said Glasner who also has to replace another potential first choice in Yannick Gerhardt. The midfielder suffered a serious facial injury just before the restart and will also miss the game against the Werkself. And it will also be a close run thing for the captain Josuha Guilavogui to make his comeback after a long-term knee injury, although the holding midfielder is now back in full training.
Under Glasner's predecessor, Bruno Labbadia (now at Hertha Berlin), Wolfsburg achieved stability after years of being involved in relegation battles and the Austrian has seamlessly continued that improvement with a clear approach to the game. Several players like Brekalo, or above all midfielder Xaver Schlager, have plenty of potential and the signing of Pongracic could well pay off in the long term. Wolfsburg are definitely on course to be able to secure a regular slot on the European stage.
Given the 13-point deficit to fifth place, Wolfsburg can hardly look too far up the table at the moment. At the same time, VfL are in pole position in a close race with several teams to secure one of the remaining Europa League places. The impending return of captain Guilavogui should bring further stability to an already impressive defence. If the team are able to compensate for the remaining absentees then the chances of qualifying for Europe again are eminently good.
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