Matchday in focus: VfL Wolfsburg

Eintracht Frankfurt

·9 September 2022

Matchday in focus: VfL Wolfsburg

Both Frankfurt and Wolfsburg have injury worries. More on that, the possible answers and a key battle in our ‘Matchday in focus’.

Tactics

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Wolfsburg started with a back four in their DFB Cup tie against Jena as well as the first four matchdays of the Bundesliga campaign, but Niko Kovac switched to a three-man defence in the last game at home to Köln. The new head coach has used a total of 22 players already, sometimes in a 4-2-3-1, sometimes in an attacking 4-3-3 and most recently in a 3-4-1-2.

The Wolves have been a little toothless in attack so far, failing to score in three of their five league outings. The 2015 DFB Cup winners are 14th in the league when it comes to goals scored (four).

Absentees

Aurélio Buta, Christopher Lenz, Jérôme Onguéné, Sebastian Rode and Almamy Toure are all out injured for Eintracht.

The visitors are without Jérôme Roussillon, Patrick Wimmer and Jonas Wind due to injury.

One to watch: Lukas Nmecha

Lukas Nmecha has matured into a six-time German international during his time in Wolfsburg. Nmecha, who owns both a German and a British passport, returned to Lower Saxony in summer 2021 after spending time on loan at the club in 2019. Following his return to then parent side Manchester City and subsequent loan spells at Middlesbrough and Anderlecht, the striker signed permanently for VfL.

Since his return last summer, Nmecha has netted 11 times in 30 Bundesliga games for Wolfsburg as well as registering two assists.
The 23-year-old has three goals to his name already this term, including a brace against Köln. Three quarters of the Wolves’ league goals this season have therefore come from Nmecha.

Key battle: Jesper Lindström vs. Micky van de Ven

When Jesper Lindström skilfully lifted the ball over the goalkeeper in the 39th minute to put Eintracht back in front against Werder Bremen on Matchday 4, the young Dane finally made his mark in the 2022/23 season. The 22-year-old has featured in every competitive match of the new campaign. In his debut season for the Eagles, he posted five goals and nine assists in 39 appearances overall. Micky van de Ven, who joined Wolfsburg from Volendam in summer 2021, has established himself at the heart of the Wolves’ rearguard this season. The 6 ft 4 in defender has played every minute of every match, with Kovac building his defence around the Dutch U21 international. The 21-year-old, who can play at either centre-back or left-back, has played the most passes for his team and blocked the most shots.