Our next opponents: Wolves back on track

Position

VfL Wolfsburg and second division Eintracht Braunschweig were involved in a typical cup clash in the Lower Saxony derby on Wednesday night. The spectators at Eintracht’s stadium were not presented with a feast of football. But Niko Kovac did not expect one. “We had to produce the goods and I think we did it,” said the VfL coach after his team’s 2-1 win that saw Mattias Svanberg score early on and the Wolves were not put off course by an equaliser just before half-time. Jakub Kaminski finally netted the winner to send Wolfsburg through to the Round of 16 of the DFB Cup. “Pure joy,” said the skipper Maximilian Arnold. “We’re through to the next round and that’s what counts tonight.” For Kovac, it was the continuation of an impressive run: It was victory number 16 in succession in DFB Cup ties as a coach. Equally important to him was the fact his team confirmed their improved form with the win in Braunschweig. The Green and Whites are now unbeaten in four games. They have picked up eight points in the last five Bundesliga fixtures. Most recently there were two draws at home to Borussia Mönchengladbach (2-2) and at FC Augsburg (1-1) and that followed a 3-2 win against VfB Stuttgart and a 1-0 victory at Eintracht Frankfurt. The little run was only broken by a 2-0 defeat away to league leaders Union Berlin,

Kovac has seen improvements in many areas in recent weeks. “We can still improve on the pitch but the team is making progress in terms of tactics.” After a difficult start to the season with just two points from the first five matches, the Croat and former Bayer 04 player, who was at the Werkself from 1996 to 1999, has stabilised his team. The 51-year-old cannot be completely satisfied with ten points from ten games and thirteenth position in the table. They are currently not living up to expectations of qualifying for Europe again. “We could have picked up more points but I’m happy with the development of the team – we are up for it now,” is the assessment of the coach.

Personnel

Kovac almost had a full squad for the game against Gladbach. The Danish striker Jonas Wind (23) was back in the squad against Borussia Mönchengladbach for the first time since being sidelined for several weeks due to a thigh injury he made a brief appearance. Kovac only made one change in defence for the cup tie at Eintracht Braunschweig: Sebastiaan Bornauw (23) came in for Maxence Lacroix (22) in central defence.

In the back four in front of goalkeeper Koen Casteels (30), Lacroix mainly plays alongside the Dutchman Micky van de Ven (21). The Brazilian Paulo Otávio (27), who provided the assists for both goals against Gladbach, impressed on the left side of the defence with the Germany international Ridle Baku now finding his form again at right-back.

The captain Maximilian Arnold is a key player for the Wolves. As a holding midfielder, the 28-year-old covers Otávio or Baku when they venture forward. The tireless Arnold, who has played for the Wolves for 13 years, is an enforcer, creator, strategist and finisher all in one. Alongside him in midfield are Yannick Gerhardt (28) and Mattias Svanberg (23), who was signed from Bologna in the summer. “We’ve become more flexible,” said Arnold, “and we are more together now.” The two young new signings Jakub Kaminski (20, from Lech Poznan) and Patrick Wimmer (21, Arminia Bielefeld) are first choices on the flanks. Options in midfield are the Croat Bartol Franjic (22), the experienced Frenchman Josuha Guilavogui (32) and Felix Nmecha (22), the younger brother of Lukas.

Niko Kovac has several options in attack this season. The Germany international Lukas Nmecha (23) has competition up front: Omar Marmoush, last season on loan at VfB Stuttgart, recently scored against the Swabian side and against Mönchengladbach. “He’s a player who has immense strength, great speed and a great shot,” said Kovac about the 23-year old Egyptian who can also play on the wings. The coach also has another alternative up front with the return of Jonas Wind. That means Max Kruse, signed by Kovacs in September, is no longer the number one topic for discussion at Wolfsburg.

Performers

It took a while and needed a number of changes but VfL now appear to be back on track. The team, which has everything required for fast and flowing football, lacked the right attitude in the first games of the season but has shown a different mentality in recent matches. “We played with more aggression and we kept our foot on the gas,” said CEO Jörg Schmadtke after the 1-1 draw at Augsburg. Omar Marmoush also shared that view: “We were able to show a different approach as a team, using all means available to press and come out on top – even if that’s not the way we normally play.” In last week’s 2-2 draw against Gladbach, the Wolves had their best performance of the season to date, twice coming back from behind and almost snatching the win – also because they were still full of energy at the end of the 90 minutes. The latter also applies to the 2-1 cup win at Eintracht Braunschweig.

Problems

The Green and Whites only scored five goals in their first seven games of the season and they hardly created any chances. That has improved. But VfL have the third worst conversion rate in the league. “We now create a certain number of good chances but we don’t take enough of them,” declared Kovac. VfL Wolfsburg also have the third worst numbers in terms of shots on goal.

Prediction

Niko Kovac announced a target ahead of the season: He wants to take VfL Wolfsburg back onto the European stage after the last hectic campaign ended with VfL twelfth in the table. After a poor start to the season in the Bundesliga, the ambitious new Wolves coach has got his team back on track in the past few weeks. Young new signings like Wimmer, Kaminski, Svanberg and returnee from VfB Stuttgart Omar Marmoush have strengthened the squad. The mix is right and the trend is looking good for the Green and Whites. After the cup win at Braunschweig, the captain Maximilian Arnold said: “We definitely want to build on that at Bayer 04.” The Wolves have won their last four away games in Leverkusen. Another victory at the BayArena would provide an additional boost for VfL. Europe would be a step closer. And with the cup ‘specialist’ Niko Kovac, who lifted the DFB Cup with Eintracht Frankfurt and Bayern Munich, the team from Lower Saxony also have the chance of qualifying for Europe via this alternative route.