VfL Wolfsburg face KAA Gent in the first-leg of their Champions League last 16 tie this evening (20:45 CET) and head coach Dieter Hecking is adamant that it won’t be as easy as some are suggesting: “You’re misinformed if you think tonight will be a walk in the park. Belgium top the FIFA World Rankings and are a key part of the global game. We’ll need to perform well in both games to progress.
Gent finished ahead of Olympique Lyon and Valencia in the group stage, finishing second to Zenit St. Petersburg. They’re also having a good campaign domestically. They’re level with leaders Club Brugge KV after 26 games and are well placed to defend their title.
Knoche’s confidence boosted
Things aren’t going so smoothly for the Wolves. They lost two of their first three games of the year, drawing the other, before beating Ingolstadt at the weekend. Julian Draxler and Robin Knoche were the scorers in the Volkswagen Arena and the goal has done the defender the world of good.
He missed the majority of the first half of the season through injury and was only making his second competitive appearance of the campaign against Die Schanzer. “It was difficult to come back after such a long lay-off. It was great to help the team claim a win but my goal was also important on a personal level – it will give me a lot of confidence,” Knoche told eurosport.de. He is in line to make his Champions League debut this evening alongside Dante, as Naldo is banned for the game.
It’s a season of first for both sides in the competition. This season was the first time that they reached the group stage of the tournament (although VfL had previously played in the qualifiers). Consequently, it’s also their first trip to the knockout stages. As a result of this, the 20,000 spectators in the Ghelamco Arena are bound to create a raucous atmosphere.
VfL Wolfsburg face KAA Gent in the first-leg of their Champions League last 16 tie this evening (20:45 CET) and head coach Dieter Hecking is adamant that it won’t be as easy as some are suggesting: “You’re misinformed if you think tonight will be a walk in the park. Belgium top the FIFA World Rankings and are a key part of the global game. We’ll need to perform well in both games to progress.
Gent finished ahead of Olympique Lyon and Valencia in the group stage, finishing second to Zenit St. Petersburg. They’re also having a good campaign domestically. They’re level with leaders Club Brugge KV after 26 games and are well placed to defend their title.
Knoche’s confidence boosted
Things aren’t going so smoothly for the Wolves. They lost two of their first three games of the year, drawing the other, before beating Ingolstadt at the weekend. Julian Draxler and Robin Knoche were the scorers in the Volkswagen Arena and the goal has done the defender the world of good.
He missed the majority of the first half of the season through injury and was only making his second competitive appearance of the campaign against Die Schanzer. “It was difficult to come back after such a long lay-off. It was great to help the team claim a win but my goal was also important on a personal level – it will give me a lot of confidence,” Knoche told eurosport.de. He is in line to make his Champions League debut this evening alongside Dante, as Naldo is banned for the game.
It’s a season of first for both sides in the competition. This season was the first time that they reached the group stage of the tournament (although VfL had previously played in the qualifiers). Consequently, it’s also their first trip to the knockout stages. As a result of this, the 20,000 spectators in the Ghelamco Arena are bound to create a raucous atmosphere.
