"We have faith in Max" – Ole Werner ahead of Wolfsburg clash

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RB Leipzig

·13 February 2026

"We have faith in Max" – Ole Werner ahead of Wolfsburg clash

Full focus is on the league. On Sunday, the Red Bulls host VfL Wolfsburg as they look to pick up more important points in the race for a spot in Europe next season.

RBL head coach Ole Werner answered questions from the media in the pre-match press conference.

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Team news:

David Raum misses out due to suspension.
Suleman Sani also remains unavailable due to his ankle ligament injury. He will miss the next few weeks at least.
Assan Ouédraogo and Viggo Gebel also remain out because of injury.

Latest team news

Ole on the opponent

"Wolfsburg have a very experienced team, particularly in the key areas. They are good on the ball in midfield, dangerous from set pieces and look to attack with speed and score goals. I think their new coach has a clear footballing philosophy.You always have to assume that the opponent will perform as well as they possibly can. We won't be gifted anything. The most important thing is that we are on top of our game. We want to bring good energy onto the pitch. If we do that, we're confident that we can beat Wolfsburg."

Filling in for David Raum

"David Raum is our captain. He is a true leader and a key player who gives us energy and quality. We will of course miss him, but it is normal for a defender to receive a suspension like this during the course of a season. That means there will have to be a few changes, but we have good players who can come into the side.Max Finkgräfe hasn't played a lot so far, which is partially down to how good David's been this season. However, he's still developed well in training and is an important member of the team. He's in our plans and we want to help him improve in the long term. We have faith in Max and he has our full backing. As much as it is a shame that David is unavailable, I'm also very pleased that Max is getting his chance. I'm sure he'll do well."

Possible changes from the Pokal game

"Castello Jr. has come through this week well. He put in a very good performance in a really intense match in Munich. That was really good, especially as he'd been out for a little while before that. He’s one of the players we’ll speak to again tomorrow to get another sense of how fit he is. The same goes for Xaver Schlager, who also coped well with his workload in the Pokal game. We want to win the game on Sunday and we'll make personnel decisions based on that."

Timo Werner's farewell

"Timo is training with us completely as normal. We obviously have a big squad. This means that while we play eleven against eleven in training, a few players work individually. Because of his upcoming departure, he is one of those players.Timo is one of the faces of RB Leipzig. He is a real symbol of this club. I can only speak very highly of him. Although he hasn't played the role he would have wanted to for the past half a year, he's always committed himself fully to the team. During this time, he's never given anyone the impression that he's unsatisfied with his situation. I hope that he's happy, enjoys his football and has a great time on his new adventure. He deserves that, because he's not just a great footballer, but also a great guy."