Hannes Wolf can breathe a sigh of relief going into this Saturday’s clash with FC Augsburg (kick-off 15:30 CET). In Holger Badstuber and Daniel Ginczek, two of the coach’s injured men are back in the reckoning. "We haven’t necessarily had that much luck on our side of late," explained the VfB coach on Friday, continuing: "With Holger and Daniel we have gained a boost in quality." As to whether or not Chadrac Akolo will make the clash with the ‚Fuggerstädter‘ will be decided following the final pre-match training session. The Congolese striker is still suffering from the effects of a slight thigh strain, which he picked up during the home game against Wolfsburg.
Successful Wasen start?
Regardless of who makes the ultimate squad, on Saturday afternoon, Hannes Wolf will be expecting those on the pitch to display stable defensive work, combined with a determined offensive approach. "Our defensive work has been good and up front we are creating enough chances. We must continue on making them count," insisted the 36-year-old, adding: "It’s all about working for the decisive moment."
In their two home games thus far, against Mainz and Wolfsburg, the Cannstatt Boys made the decisive moment count, proving successful with 1-0 wins on each occasion. The plan now is to add a third home victory to that tally this afternoon against Augsburg – not least as VfB are eager to end a negative run of results against the 'Fuggerstädter'. In ten previous Bundesliga meetings, the two sides have never played out a draw, whilst FCA decided seven of those games in their favour. Putting an end to that negative run at the start of this year’s Wasen festival would not only please Hannes Wolf, but also countless White-Red fateful. A crowd of 54,000 is expected to fill into the Mercedes-Benz Arena this Saturday. The bulk of those will be getting behind the Wasenelf in their plight to claim another home victory.