VfB are getting their Bundesliga 2 campaign back under way when they travel to SV Wehen Wiesbaden on Sunday (kick-off 13:30 CEST). The match will of course be played behind closed doors, an “emergency” situation which the team prepared for with an inter-squad practice match on Wednesday at the Mercedes-Benz Arena. “It was a good run-out,” said head coach Matarazzo. “The main thing for us was to get a feel for what it’s like to play in an empty stadium. The players brought a lot of good energy into the match. They managed to bring a competitive element to it. We’re confident ahead of the match against Wehen, and hopefully we’ll take another three points out of it.”
While Borna Sosa (swollen knee), Maxime Awoudja (torn Achilles tendon) and Lilian Egloff (high school graduation exams) will be unavailable for Sunday’s match, captain Marc Oliver Kempf will be back in action after his broken jaw and is in the running for a spot in the starting XI. Sasa Kalajdzic, who suffered tears to his cruciate and interior knee ligaments and medial meniscus last summer, has worked his way back into contention and is hopeful of at least being named in the squad. “Wehen were on a good run before the enforced break,” said Matarazzo of VfB’s opponents. “They had settled nicely into the second half of the season and on Sunday they’re likely to look to launch long balls forward and try to make the most of their skills on the break.”
VfB will be looking to get this phase of the season started with positive body language and team spirit out on the pitch. “We’ve made the players very aware of this,” the coach added. “Without the support, it’s all the more important for us to work well as a team.”
Additional substitutions allowed
In the remaining matches of the season, teams will be allowed to make as many as five substitutions. Changes can be made at three intervals during the 90 minutes, including half-time. This modification was ratified by the DFL on Thursday at an extraordinary general meeting.