Clash with Wolfsburg – only one thing counts for Niko Kovac against former club | OneFootball

Niko Kovac coached the Green & Whites from 2022 to 2024. On Sunday, he will stand on the sidelines in Black & Yellow as Borussia take on his former employer, VfL Wolfsburg. The BVB coach is aware of the special situation: Kovac explained that he knows Wolfsburg will “definitely try twice as hard” given his past.

Despite Wolfsburg's motivation, BVB certainly want to win the match. According to Kovac, Borussia must be prepared for the Wolves' attacking qualities, with three of their seven goals to date this season coming from-pieces. “They will certainly demand everything from us,” said the BVB coach, who continued: “We have to get to grips with our opponents and try to bring our qualities, which we undoubtedly have, into play as quickly as possible in order to win.”

Kovac thinks highly of his former club, who currently sit in eighth place in the Bundesliga table with five points. “They are certainly in a worse position than they should be,” said the BVB coach, referring in particular to the last round of matches, when Wolfsburg conceded an equaliser in the 14th minute of stoppage time against 1. FC Köln. Wolfsburg started the season with a 3-1 win against Heidenheim before drawing with Mainz (2-2). The bottom line is that the team coached by Paul Simonis, who took over the reins at Wolfsburg at the start of the season, are still unbeaten in the Bundesliga this season – just like BVB (read the match facts).

Incidentally, the man in the VfL dugout is not the only new face: new signing Christian Eriksen could make his debut against BVB. Wolfsburg only signed Denmark's record cap holder, who most recently played for Manchester United, last week. “Christian Eriksen is a senior player who possesses quality, class and aura. That's another reason why I expect them to be a very difficult opponent to play against,” Kovac explained.

The BVB coach will have to continue to do without Emre Can, Niklas Süle and Julien Duranville, who are out with long-term injuries, against Wolfsburg. But there is good news regarding Nico Schlotterbeck, Fabio Silva and Aaron Anselmino: Kovac has indicated all three players could be in the squad for the Wolfsburg game, but the final training session on Saturday will be decisive (all the personnel info).

The memories of Wolfsburg's most recent visit to SIGNAL IDUNA PARK are fond ones. Thanks to their 4-0 victory against VfL in early May, the Black & Yellows climbed into a Champions League spot for the first time shortly before the end of last season. Although it was only 23 hours before Freiburg overtook them again, the home win against the Wolves – which came courtesy of braces from both Karim Adeyemi and Serhou Guirassy – was an important part of the journey en route to qualification for the Champions League.

The aim will be to pick up another three points against VfL on Sunday: “We've had enough of a break,” said Kovac in reference to the Champions League game in Turin last Tuesday. The coach continued: “I'm expecting us to put in another good performance at the weekend with our fans behind us.” Ultimately, only one thing counts for him against Wolfsburg: “a victory” – for the Black & Yellows, of course.