Our next opponents: Wolfsburg turnaround with Labbadia?

Position

New coach, same situation: The first game for the Wolves under Bruno Labbadia against Mainz 05 ended all square putting VfL top of the draws table with a thirteenth stalemate in the current campaign. Labbadia's predecessor Martin Schmidt drew eleven of his 19 Bundesliga games in charge at Wolfsburg before he resigned in the middle of February following a 2-1 defeat against Bayern Munich. Labbadia was presented the very next day just before the away game at direct rivals Mainz – that ended in a familiar result. With the 1-1 draw, the team from Lower Saxony missed the chance to move up, which would have been possible given they took an early lead, but they did avoid sliding down into the play-off spot. Wolfsburg, fifteenth in the Bundesliga, are just one point above sixteenth – and the possibility of relegation continues to hang over the club. 

personnel

Bruno Labbadia is more and more becoming a 'modern firefighter'. The  52-year-old has already saved VfB Stuttgart and Hamburg SV from relegation and now he faces the same challenge at Wolfsburg. And even if the result was reminiscent of Schmidt in the end – Labbadia, who made his debut as a coach in the Bundesliga in 2008 at Bayer 04, he's doing things differently from his predecessor including starting the Brazilian full-back William and Josip Brekalo who returned after a period away on loan. With success: Brekalo converted a William cross for the first goal under Labbadia. The Werkself will have to keep an eye on the 19-year-old winger – and he is not the only one in an impressive Wolfsburg forward line. That includes the two talented midfielders Daniel Didavi and Yunus Malli, the Belgium striker Divock Origi and his fellow countryman Landry Dimata – the Wolves attack certainly fits the bill. Admir Mehmedi joined the group in January. The Switzerland international played for Bayer 04 in the first half of the season, scoring two goals in twelve appearances for the Werkself. Mehmedi  came off the bench in the final minutes at Mainz. Perhaps he may face his former team-mates on Saturday from the start – in spite of stiff competition.

problems

As in the previous season, where the Wolves survived in the play-offs against Eintracht Braunschweig, the team continues to fall far below its potential. The squad could do much better than another battle against relegation but the team have not been anywhere near that level for a long time. One reason for the failure to take off this season is bad luck with injuries, which the team suffered both under Jonker and Schmidt – above all in defence. Brooks, Gerhardt, Tisserand, Uduokhai, Jung, Camacho: That is the current injury list in the Wolfsburg defence which means the back for under Labbadia is almost self-selecting. The experienced striker Jakub Blaszczykowski, who has often helped out in emergencies at right back, has long been sidelined with a back problem.

potential

The possibility of achieving much more remains extremely high – both for the team and for the club, which is in a good position financially due to the transfer income from recent seasons, and therefore capable of attracting players like Brooks or Malli to Wolfsburg in spite of competition from other Bundesliga clubs. The last two seasons have been marked by a lack of continuity in terms of personnel. Labbadia is already the fourth coach in 16 months and the squad keeps changing with numerous transfers  in and out. If 'firefighter Bruno' is able to keep his team in the league then VfL have all the means of ensuring the club can become more consistent – and the team can rediscover their former strengths.

prediction

Last season demonstrated that quality on the pitch is not enough to prevent VfL being involved in the play-offs. Of all the teams in the relegation battle, Wolfsburg again have the best individual players and it appears highly unlikely the Wolves  will end up in the bottom two. In order to avoid a repeat appearance in the play-offs, Wolfsburg have to start winning under Labbadia. Draws are not enough.