Wolfsburg are set to host Borussia Monchengladbach at Volkswagen Arena on Tuesday in their 17th Bundesliga fixture of the season.
The home team are 10th in the table with 24 points and started 2025 with a 1-0 victory against Hoffenheim on Saturday, while Die Fohlen are in 11th place, level on points with their hosts, but they were beaten 1-0 by Bayern Munich on Saturday.
Match preview
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The Wolves' match against Hoffenheim was closely fought, though the victors did well to restrict their opponents to just two shots on target and one big chance throughout the game.
The hosts' defensive display on Saturday will have come as a welcome relief by manager Ralph Hassenhuttl, whose side had conceded nine goals in their prior three games.
Interestingly, though Wolfsburg's record of 33 goals scored in the Bundesliga is the top flight's fourth-best offensive return, they have only accumulated a total of 22.9 xG in the league.
Hassenhuttl's side have won one and lost two of their three most recent outings, but they did win their previous five games.
It should be noted that while the home team were beaten 3-1 last time out at home against Borussia Dortmund on December 22, they were unbeaten in the prior five fixtures at Volkswagen Arena, achieving victory on four occasions.
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As for the visitors, they come into the clash having only conceded once against Bayern despite having faced eight big chances and over four xG.
Boss Gerardo Seoane was pleased with some aspects of his side's performance, telling reporters: "We're not entirely satisfied because we lost. We didn't manage to relieve the pressure when we won the ball. We switched to a double pivot in the second half. I don't think we allowed much up until the penalty. After that you just saw the quality of Bayern."
Die Fohlen are only three points from sixth-placed Freiburg, who occupy the division's only Conference League qualification spot, but they will likely need to improve their offensive showings if they are to qualify for Europe given their record of 25 goals scored in the league is the second worst in the top 11.
Seoane's team's form over the past weeks has been mixed, with the club winning two, drawing one and losing two of their last five Bundesliga fixtures.
The visitors have struggled on the road for some time considering they have been beaten on four occasions, been held to a stalemate twice and triumphed in just one of their seven most recent away games.
Team News
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Wolfsburg will have to contend with the absence of suspended attacker Tiago Tomas, as well as Bartosz Bialek, Kevin Paredes, Lovro Majer, Lukas Nmecha and Mohamed El Amine Amoura, who was forced off due to injury against Hoffenheim.
Jonas Wind may be supported up front by Patrick Wimmer and Jakub Kaminski, while Yannick Gerhardt could join Maximilian Arnold and Bence Dardai in midfield.
Goalkeeper Niklas Klinger and left-back Rogerio have also been ruled out, so perhaps Joakim Maehle will start on the left side of defence in front of goalkeeper Kamil Grabara.
Meanwhile, Borussia Monchengladbach have relatively few absentees, though winger Nathan N'Goumou will not be in the matchday squad due to injury, while Franck Honorat is a doubt.
Kevin Stoger, Alassane Plea and Robin Hack can be expected to support striker Tim Kleindienst in front of midfielders Rocco Reitz and Julian Weigl.
Elsewhere, centre-backs Ko Itakura and Nico Elvedi have featured regularly this season, and they are likely to be stationed ahead of goalkeeper Moritz Nicolas.
Wolfsburg possible starting lineup:
Grabara; Fischer, Vavro, Koulierakis, Maehle; Dardai, Arnold, Gerhardt; Wimmer, Wind, Kaminski
Borussia Monchengladbach possible starting lineup:
Nicolas; Scally, Itakura, Elvedi, Ullrich; Reitz, Weigl; Stoger, Plea, Hack; Kleindienst
We say: Wolfsburg 3-1 Borussia Monchengladbach
Wolfsburg's strong home form and efficiency in front of goal should make them favourites to claim all three points on Tuesday.
Additionally, Borussia Monchengladbach were fortunate to not concede multiple times last time out, and their away record suggests that they could struggle to assert themselves at Volkswagen Arena.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Lewis Nolan
