Markus Gisdol: “Be on track from Saturday onwards”

Markus Gisdol on…

...the opponents:

Wolfsburg are amongst the top five teams in the league for me, alongside Bayern, Dortmund, Schalke and Leverkusen. We will need to play incredibly well to get a result. The match is going to be a huge challenge, but we relish that. Our 6-2 win last year was a game that was wide open for a long time. Wolfsburg have a very strong attack, but they have great quality in every position.

...the squad:

Kevin Volland has a 50/50 chance of being involved. He needs to be totally pain-free before I select him. Pirmin Schwegler isn't available for selection again. We're waiting for him to be certain that he is fully fit. Next week he's going to take part in full training with the team. There is a slight doubt over David Abraham, as he has a problem with his adductor muscles. Jannik Vestergaard, Tarik Elyounoussi, Ermin Bicakcic and Sejad Salihovic all returned from international duty in perfect health. Ermin and “Sali” were a bit tired though, due to their long flight back from Sarajevo.

...the season so far:

In terms of the football we've played, I'm satisfied with the start we've made. We've played well for 135 minutes, with a 45 minute blip. We really want to be on track from Saturday onwards and play more of the football that was a feature for much of last season.

...the international break:

Obviously I would have preferred to have had the whole squad in training recently, but every manager has that problem. The two-week break is not good for momentum but we have had plenty of worthwhile training sessions as a result of getting the U23 and U19 players involved.

Sebastian Rudy on…

...the opponents:

Wolfsburg are a great team full of great players. Our basis has to be a solid defence. Just like us, VfL will want to be attacking. It is going to be an open game with many chances. Clearly, we hope to score one or two goals more than them.

Past meetings:

TSG and VfL have met twelve times in the Bundesliga. The team from Lower Saxony have the better head-to-head record so far, having beaten TSG six times. Hoffenheim have four victories and there have been two draws. There has been one further meeting; in the quarterfinals of last year's DFB Cup. Dieter Hecking's team won that match 3-2 in the WIRSOL Rhein-Neckar Arena. There are always goals when these teams play. There have been at least three goals in each of the 13 encounters, with four goals or more being scored in nine of them. Markus Gisdol and his team will have positive memories of the most recent Bundesliga encounter. They met in the WIRSOL Rhein-Neckar Arena on matchday 23 last season and won 6-2 – the club's biggest Bundesliga victory to date.

The opponents:

Wolfsburg have had a slow start to the season. Hecking's team struggled to break down Darmstadt 98 In the first round of the DFB Cup and needed a penalty shootout to progress. Their first game of the Bundesliga season resulted in a loss to Bayern Munich, but that's certainly nothing to be ashamed of. Wolfsburg led twice in their recent home match against Eintracht Frankfurt, but had to settle for a point in the end. Many of their first team were on international duty last week. Despite this, Hecking and his team used the free week to iron out a few creases.

The key battles:

Olic, Hunt, Bendtner, Luiz Gustavo, De Bruyne, Perisic, etc. – the Wolfsburg team has plenty of top talents. Despite last season's 6-2 triumph, they are a tough nut to crack. A repeat result is unlikely, but if Hoffenheim play to their full potential on Saturday, you never know. TSG need to defend strongly and play with a spring in their step. A strong defence, coupled with quick counterattacks will probably be the key to success for Gisdol's team.

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