'Match them as equals when it's 11 vs. 11': Women out for revenge at Wolfsburg for reverse fixture defeat

"We're not really under any pressure. But of course we want to take the chance to pick up points no-one's necessarily expecting us to get and make up for the ones we dropped against Hoffenheim and in Frankfurt," said Pätzold in light of being in fifth place and two points behind third-placed Eintracht Frankfurt (33 points), who still have a game in hand to play against TSG Hoffenheim (32) next Wednesday: "The greater ambition this time is to deliver a top performance and pick up points."

First-leg defeat "set US back A BIT"

Ambition that is fuelled above all by memories of the reverse-fixture clash on 19 October. "We're looking forward to facing one of the best teams in Europe. We showed last season that we can get in their faces," said Pätzold: "Simultaneously, we want to prove that we can match them as equals when it's 11 vs. 11 and cause them problems. Unfortunately, we weren't able to do that in the reverse fixture due to the early red card." The defeat left its mark on the team. "The game set us back a bit at the time", added the 46-year-old.

It means the Werkself are all the more fired up for an exciting rematch. "Our approach won't depend on the situation in the table. We're aiming to focus on ourselves, attack with confidence and courage, put our opponents under pressure early on and create chances like in previous games," said Pätzold: "We'll need a very good day, will have to make the most of our opportunities and push ourselves to the limit both individually and as a team. If we manage to do that, if we're more efficient and perhaps also get the luck we haven't had recently, we'll have a chance of beating Wolfsburg."

Pätzold on Wolfsburg: "Shown that they're vulnerable"

Wolfsburg, on 38 points and already a full 14 points behind defending champions Bayern Munich, but also five (with a game in hand) ahead of Eintracht in the table, progressed once more to the DFB Cup semi-finals on Wednesday with a 1-0 win against Frankfurt. However, Pätzold doesn't believe his team will have an energy advantage as they face their first competitive match in three weeks. "Wolfsburg are used to putting in top performances in a three-day rhythm and have built their squad accordingly, so the workload won't be a big disadvantage for them." He takes a differentiated view of the Wolves' season so far: "They've put in a lot of outstanding performances, but they've also had some difficult-to-explain poor results. Despite their great individual class, they've also shown time and again that they're vulnerable - especially in pressing, counter-pressing and transition situations, which we'll be aiming to capitalise on."

As for Leverkusen, Claudia Wenger (who was under the weather) returns to the squad. Estrella Merino Gonzalez and Caroline Kehrer (muscular problems) are both doubtful. Amy Wrigge, Shen Menglu (training deficit), Vanessa Haim (recovery training after a muscle-tendon injury), Charlotte Voll (recovery training after a shoulder injury), Louisa Remien (recovery training after knee problems) and Friederike Repohl (partial tear of an inner ligament) are still sidelined.

Tickets for away fans in the VfL shop

Fans who would like to support the Werkself in Wolfsburg can purchase tickets in advance HERE in the VfL online shop. The mixed seating block O2 is reserved for visiting supporters.