Next stop, next test!
After the first part of the US Tour in New York and New Jersey, RB Leipzig is currently training in Miami. Another friendly match will take place in, Florida, the “Sunshine State” on Saturday, August 3rd at 7:30PM. local time (Sunday, August 4th, 1:30 AM CEST). The opposing team will also be a Premier League club. After the 2-0 win against Aston Villa, it’s now Wolverhampton Wanderers‘s turn.
Marco Rose and Nici Seiwald will be available to answer questions from the media before the match. The press conference starts on Saturday at 11:45AM local time (August 3rd, 5:45PM German time).
The press conference with Marco and Nici
Back in the Premier League since 2018
The “Wolves” were founded in 1876 and experienced their most successful period between 1949 and 1960, when the club won three English championships and two FA Cups. However, reaching the final of the UEFA Cup in 1972 was their last major success. It is only recently that Wolves gained access to the upper echelons of English football again.
The club returned to the Premier League in the 2018/19 season, where it has been consistently in the middle of the table since then. The Wolves finished last season in 14th place.
Their biggest achievements:
- 3 English Championships (1954, 1958, 1959)
- 4 English Cup wins (1893, 1908, 1949, 1960)
- 1 UEFA Cup Final (1972)
RBL vs. Aston Villa behind the scenes
The manager
Gary O’Neil relieved Julen Lopetegui at Wolverhampton Wanderers in August 2023. In his first season, he led the club to avoid relegation. O’Neil had previously also kept AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League, but was nevertheless released from his duties at the end of the 2022/23 season.
The former midfielder only had five days to get to know his team before last season, as Lopetegui resigned with very short notice. Yet the 41-year-old quickly managed to ada“pt his team’s playing style to his ways of understanding the game.
Under O’Neil, Wolves have taken a more offensive approach. 50 goals scored, significantly more than in the three previous seasons (36, 38, 31). Despite being 14th in the table, their football had dynamism and attractiveness as its core values.
The squad
Wolverhampton have two former RB Leipzig attackers under contract: Hee-chan Hwang and Matheus Cunha. Both played an important role last season, Hwang scoring twelve goals and providing three assists in 29 league games, while Cunha scored twelve goals himself in 32 games, adding seven assists to his tally.
Players to watch
- Pedro Neto (Right winger providing sharp crosses, Portuguese National Player)
- Joao Gomes (Running the show in Wolves’ midfield)
- Rayan Ait-Nouri (A dominant and offensive left wingback)