The race for second in the Bundesliga: On Saturday (18:30 CET), third placed VfL Wolfsburg welcome second placed Borussia Dortmund for the top game of Matchday 15. It’s the clash of the runners up: In 2015, Wolfsburg finished second in the Bundesliga; in 2013 and 2014 it was Borussia Dortmund. Thomas Tuchel’s men are currently seven points clear of the Wolves. Can Julian Draxler and Co. close the gap? Can VfL make the home advantage count, or will Dortmund pull away and stay hot on the heels of the unbeaten league leaders: Bayern München. DFB.de have rounded up the stats.
How things stand: BVB Dortmund travel to Wolfsburg with a positive attitude. Last Sunday, they put their frustration from previous results to good use and beat relegation candidates VfB Stuttgart convincingly. 4-1 was the score against the Swabians, but it was not only the score line which was impressive, their performance in the Signal-Iduna-Park was a demonstration of their quality as a team. Despite suffering from muscular problems ahead of and throughout the game, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored twice and extended his lead at the top of the Bundesliga goalscorers’ list with 17 goals now to his name. Wolfsburg on the other hand failed to win their game last weekend. In their game against Augsburg, manager Dieter Hecking’s men only managed a lacklustre 0-0 draw, adding to their already poor record away from home. In front of their own fans however, VfL are a strong force, and they have the longest unbeaten run at home out of all the teams in the Bundesliga. The current unbeaten streak stands at 29 games without a loss (club record), and in what will be Hecking’s 100th match in charge they could add to this already outstanding run. Should the Wolves avoid defeat against Dortmund, they will see themselves enter the list of top ten unbeaten home records: A fact that certainly speaks volumes for the home side’s chances. "They’re just completely different games for us at home. We want to build on our run," said Daniel Caligiuri ahead of the game.
Head-to-head record: This will be the 36th time these two sides have locked horns in the Bundesliga, with the head-to-head record clearly in favour of the visitors. BVB have managed to win exactly half of the encounters scoring a total of 69 goals, with Wolfsburg only winning nine and scoring only 49. Only Bayern München have beaten Wolfsburg more times (28) and scored more goals against them (83) than Dortmund. In the last eight games between these teams there have been goals at either ends with Wolfsburg defender Naldo scoring in four of the last six encounters. In five of the last six games in Wolfsburg, BVB have scored the first goal, and are the only side apart from Bayern München to have a positive goal ratio there.
Personnel: Wolfsburg coach Hecking will have to do without defedner Dante for the match, after he was shown a second yellow card by referee Christian Dingert following a tackle with Raul Bobadilla. Luiz Gustavo (back injury) will also miss out. Julian Draxler though is back in the squad after his adductor injury, and is expected to make an appearance. "I can remove the question makr over his head," said Hecking during the week: "He should be fine for Saturday." In Dortmund, all eyes are on World Cup winner Mats Hummels. Will he be in the starting XI? He was on the bench against Stuttgart. It's still not known whether Thomas Tuchel will put his trust in the 26-year-old. He will thogh certainly be able to rely on Marco Reus. The Germany international scored seven goals in his last seven matches against Wolfsburg.
The 15th matchday
Friday, 20:30 CET
FC Schalke 04 vs. Hannover 96
Saturday, 15:30 CET
Borussia Mönchengladbach - Bayern München
Hamburger SV - FSV Mainz 05
1. FC Köln - FC Augsburg
Hertha BSC - Bayer 04 Leverkusen
FC Ingolstadt - TSG 1899 Hoffenheim
Saturday, 18:30 CET
VFL Wolfsburg - Borussia Dortmund
Sunday, 15:30 CET
VfB Stuttgart - Werder Bremen
Sunday, 17:30 CET
Eintracht Frankfurt - SV Darmstadt 98
created by mmc/dw&wh
The race for second in the Bundesliga: On Saturday (18:30 CET), third placed VfL Wolfsburg welcome second placed Borussia Dortmund for the top game of Matchday 15. It’s the clash of the runners up: In 2015, Wolfsburg finished second in the Bundesliga; in 2013 and 2014 it was Borussia Dortmund. Thomas Tuchel’s men are currently seven points clear of the Wolves. Can Julian Draxler and Co. close the gap? Can VfL make the home advantage count, or will Dortmund pull away and stay hot on the heels of the unbeaten league leaders: Bayern München. DFB.de have rounded up the stats.
How things stand: BVB Dortmund travel to Wolfsburg with a positive attitude. Last Sunday, they put their frustration from previous results to good use and beat relegation candidates VfB Stuttgart convincingly. 4-1 was the score against the Swabians, but it was not only the score line which was impressive, their performance in the Signal-Iduna-Park was a demonstration of their quality as a team. Despite suffering from muscular problems ahead of and throughout the game, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored twice and extended his lead at the top of the Bundesliga goalscorers’ list with 17 goals now to his name. Wolfsburg on the other hand failed to win their game last weekend. In their game against Augsburg, manager Dieter Hecking’s men only managed a lacklustre 0-0 draw, adding to their already poor record away from home. In front of their own fans however, VfL are a strong force, and they have the longest unbeaten run at home out of all the teams in the Bundesliga. The current unbeaten streak stands at 29 games without a loss (club record), and in what will be Hecking’s 100th match in charge they could add to this already outstanding run. Should the Wolves avoid defeat against Dortmund, they will see themselves enter the list of top ten unbeaten home records: A fact that certainly speaks volumes for the home side’s chances. "They’re just completely different games for us at home. We want to build on our run," said Daniel Caligiuri ahead of the game.
Head-to-head record: This will be the 36th time these two sides have locked horns in the Bundesliga, with the head-to-head record clearly in favour of the visitors. BVB have managed to win exactly half of the encounters scoring a total of 69 goals, with Wolfsburg only winning nine and scoring only 49. Only Bayern München have beaten Wolfsburg more times (28) and scored more goals against them (83) than Dortmund. In the last eight games between these teams there have been goals at either ends with Wolfsburg defender Naldo scoring in four of the last six encounters. In five of the last six games in Wolfsburg, BVB have scored the first goal, and are the only side apart from Bayern München to have a positive goal ratio there.
Personnel: Wolfsburg coach Hecking will have to do without defedner Dante for the match, after he was shown a second yellow card by referee Christian Dingert following a tackle with Raul Bobadilla. Luiz Gustavo (back injury) will also miss out. Julian Draxler though is back in the squad after his adductor injury, and is expected to make an appearance. "I can remove the question makr over his head," said Hecking during the week: "He should be fine for Saturday." In Dortmund, all eyes are on World Cup winner Mats Hummels. Will he be in the starting XI? He was on the bench against Stuttgart. It's still not known whether Thomas Tuchel will put his trust in the 26-year-old. He will thogh certainly be able to rely on Marco Reus. The Germany international scored seven goals in his last seven matches against Wolfsburg.
The 15th matchday
Friday, 20:30 CET
FC Schalke 04 vs. Hannover 96
Saturday, 15:30 CET
Borussia Mönchengladbach - Bayern München
Hamburger SV - FSV Mainz 05
1. FC Köln - FC Augsburg
Hertha BSC - Bayer 04 Leverkusen
FC Ingolstadt - TSG 1899 Hoffenheim
Saturday, 18:30 CET
VFL Wolfsburg - Borussia Dortmund
Sunday, 15:30 CET
VfB Stuttgart - Werder Bremen
Sunday, 17:30 CET
Eintracht Frankfurt - SV Darmstadt 98
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