VfL Bochum face VfL Wolfsburg away on Saturday. The Wolves around coach Niko Kovac have to get a grip on a problem.
VfL Wolfsburg have now been unbeaten in the Bundesliga for four games. However, coach Niko Kovac is not jumping for joy ahead of the clash with VfL Bochum on Saturday (3.30 pm, RS ticker). The last three of these four games were all draws. As a result, the Wolves continue to languish in the lower regions of the table. In 14th place to be precise.
“We see progress in the team in terms of playing development,” Kovac said at the press conference on Friday. Nevertheless, he also knows that points are at stake. And that means pressure. “In the Bundesliga you have pressure week after week, you have to withstand that as a player and also as a coach,” said the coach, adding: “We know that this is a very important game for us. We’re playing at home against an opponent who is below us in the standings, but who is obviously making progress with the new coach.”
Nevertheless, the objective is clear. VfL Wolfsburg are determined to win against the Bundesliga’s weakest team away from home. “That is our objective and that is never easy in the Bundesliga. No matter where you play and who you play, it’s always difficult,” Kovac stressed. This is also the case against VfL Bochum, against whom his team must be “wide awake” and “focused”.
VfL Bochum: Opponents Wolfsburg have a problem defensively
Especially on the defensive. Seven goals conceded in the last four games, a total of 19 after eleven games. “That is definitely too much,” admitted Kovac. “We are not a team that scores three or four goals in every game.” What needs to get better? “We have to put the focus on defending well. But when we talk about defence, we don’t just talk about the centre-backs, who are of course the last in the chain with the goalkeeper. It starts much further forward. You can sort out many situations before the last link. It’s about defending together and internalising the processes and automatisms together. You have to have the tactical understanding to know what to do in which situation. As a coaching team, we show that to the players, we explain that to the players and try to sensitise them to that.”
VfL Wolfsburg will have to do without the injured Bartol Franjic, Kevin Paredes and Niklas Klinger against Bochum.
