Searching for the final few percent

Markus Gisdol on…

…the opposition:

Wolfsburg have a fantastic squad. In my opinion they are one of the top ten clubs in Europe. Games like the victory over Bayern Munich prove that.

We assume that André Schürrle will be playing. You have to defend collectively against players like him and Kevin de Bruyne. You need to double-up on them and block their path to goal. The key is ensuring that we don't give them chances to counter and try and maintain a numerical advantage at the back. But we need to attack at the same time too. We've always looked good in games when we've gone about playing football the right way. We get chances to attack and create opportunities.

…personnel:

Sebastian Rudy will be missing after picking up his fifth yellow card. Sven Schipplock will also be unavailable for the game in Wolfsburg. He's suffering from tonsillitis. We think that the rest of the players will be fit for the match.

…the current situation:

We have to have a think because we trained well over the winter break but haven't picked up any points from our first two games, something we want to change. However, it's not like we didn't perform well in those games. There's only a few percent lacking. We need to make sure we squeeze that out. We've been calm and objective when dealing with the team. We have spoken to the players, analysed some videos and also had some individual conversations. It's not possible to train normally when we have three games in one week.

We always knew that our sporting development wouldn't be linear; we were fully aware that there would be setbacks. That's normal. The players aren't rattled as a result. We want to judge the performances realistically and this judgement isn't just based on the number of points we pick up. We aim to be more stable as a team and to take the lead ourselves. I'm certain that we'll return to form sooner rather than later.

The upcoming game:

The Wolves have a better record in this fixture. The side from Lower Saxony have won six of the 13 Bundesliga meetings, TSG have won four times and the other three matches have ended in draws. Hoffenheim have only won once in Wolfsburg. That victory came in the 2011/12 season, when Roberto Firmino and Sven Schipplock scored in a 2-1 win. Markus Gisdol's side will fondly remember last season's encounter in the WIRSOL Rhein-Neckar-Arena, where they won 6-2.

The opponents' form:

So far in 2015, Wolfsburg have drubbed Bayern München at home but have also picked up a lucky point in Frankfurt. It's been a mixed start to the second half of the season for Dieter Hecking's side. The 4-1 home victory against the record champions showed just how much potential the Wolves have. Attacking superstar Kevin de Bruyne is in the form of his life, which is making Wolfsburg one of the most dangerous opponents in the league.

The key battles:

VfL are currently second in the table and have a top squad. They have a plethora of international stars in their ranks: Naldo, Rodriguez, De Bruyne and none other than André Schürrle. As a team, TSG will be able to hold their own against the Wolves. In order to do that they'll have to display plenty of positive traits: Commitment, desire and physicality. That is most true in the battle for midfield, where two tough, uncompromising players will be going about their business: Former TSG player Luiz Gustavo and Eugen Polanski.

Match facts and statistics »