VfL Wolfsburg

The last two games against Bochum and Gladbach were disappointing in different ways. For their next assignment against SC Freiburg on Saturday 9 December (15:30 CET), the Wolves can take confidence from the venue, among other things. That is because the Green-and-Whites have collected 13 of their 16 points at the Volkswagen Arena this season. The overall head-to-head record between the two teams is also in VfL’s favour, with 16 wins to 15 and a goal difference of 70 to 56. Here are more facts and figures on the penultimate home game of the year:

VfL Wolfsburg are out of the DFB Cup in the toughest circumstances imaginable. Head coach Niko Kovac’s team went down late on Tuesday evening in the round of 16, losing 1-0 after extra time away to Borussia Mönchengladbach, sending them out of the competition.

VfL Wolfsburg’s struggles away from home continued on Saturday afternoon as they were beaten 3-1 by VfL Bochum, their sixth consecutive defeat on the road. Patrick Osterhage opened the scoring for the hosts in the 19th minute. Bernardo made it 2-0 with a header on 39 minutes, before Mattias Svanberg pulled a goal back for the Wolves in first-half stoppage time.

VfL Wolfsburg – and Mattias Svanberg in particular – have fond memories of their recent matches against VfL Bochum. In this interview, the Sweden international discusses his first Bundesliga brace and his new role as a father.

After the 2-1 win at home to Leipzig, VfL Wolfsburg are aiming for more points on the road against VfL Bochum this Saturday. Thomas Letsch’s side are unbeaten in four Bundesliga games, although they’re also the only team in the league yet to win at home this season. VfL did the double over Bochum last season, triumphing 5-1 at the Vonovia Ruhrstadion and 4-0 on home soil. Indeed, the Wolves have lost just one of their last eight league meetings with Bochum – a 1-0 away defeat during the season before last.

Following on from their 1-0 DFB Cup triumph over RB Leipzig, VfL Wolfsburg beat the same opposition 2-1 in the Bundesliga on Saturday to end a five-game winless streak in the league. Jonas Wind scored his ninth goal of the season (9′), and after Yussuf Poulsen had equalised (52′), Rogerio netted the winner with his first goal for the club (66′). The Green-and-Whites are next in action on Saturday 2 December away to VfL Bochum (kick-off 15:30 CET).

VfL Wolfsburg are seen as a leader when it comes to social projects, with the club using its reputation as a Bundesliga football club for a number of years now, most notably to bring socially relevant topics to light. Plenty of male and female players have committed to working as ambassadors or sponsors for foundations and charitable associations.

VfL Wolfsburg supporters can look forward to a strong contingent of Wolves players at next summer’s European Championship finals, which are being held in Germany from 14 June to 14 July 2024. In Koen Casteels, Aster Vranckx (both Belgium), Joakim Maehle, Jonas Wind (both Denmark), Cedric Zesiger (Switzerland), Vaclav Cerny (Czech Republic) and the currently injured Patrick Wimmer (Austria), seven VfL stars have already helped their respective countries qualify for the tournament.

The home match against record Bundesliga champions FC Bayern Munich on Matchday 16 (Wednesday 20 December) marks the end of the competitive year for the Wolves. Before the new football year begins and the first half of the season officially ends with Matchday 17 on Saturday 13 January 2024, Niko Kovac’s team will hold their winter training camp from 2 to 7 January in Almancil, Portugal, where the Wolves’ women’s team will also stay from 6 to 15 January. 

After the Wolves‘ 4-0 defeat at Borussia Mönchengladbach, 12 VfL Wolfsburg players will be in action over the forthcoming international break.