The country’s two best cup sides of the season meet on Saturday in what is best described as the prelude to a highly anticipated Berlin showdown later this month.
Can we expect either side to openly put their cards on the table? A look at their respective situations in the league suggests that Dortmund has more to play for, which puts it in a difficult position with regard to its Cup ambitions. Wolfsburg could have a strategic advantage.
Less than a week ago at Paderborn, Wolfsburg managed to effectively wrap up its season two games ahead of the final match day. By comfortably beating the freshly promoted underdog, the Wolves secured their top three spot in the league and now know they will return to the Champions League after not less than five years away from the big stage. The gap to fourth-placed Leverkusen has widened to seven points and if caught by Moenchengladbach or not, it is all the same in terms of UCL eligibility.
At the other end of the spectrum is Dortmund, who finds itself in the middle of a rampant race to catch up with the other Europa League aspirants. One draw aside, Dortmund comes from back-to-back wins and cannot afford to carelessly lose points in its remaining two matches. A defeat in Wolfsburg could ultimately be fatal in BVB’s Europa League pursuit and could mean the club comes away empty-handed despite its great run of late. In other words, it needs a quality display.
This is where it gets tricky. In view of the impending Cup final, neither Juergen Klopp nor Dieter Hecking will be overly keen to showcase their sides’ best formations and strategies.
Unfortunately for Dortmund, the league situation leaves it no choice but to give a good account of itself and thereby possibly hand some valuable insights to Wolfsburg. It is realistic to presume that Hecking will alter his lineup and field a starting XI that gives little away, whereas it is less likely to expect that from Klopp, who is almost forced to pull out the big guns.
Even if the Wolves were to lose this weekend’s encounter it could give them the edge on the final day, simply because they had the chance to rehearse the match on home soil and got a taste of BVB’s current strengths.
In that sense, this match comes at an ill-timed point for Dortmund, because unless it surprises us with a reshuffled lineup plus take the three points home, its outcome is likely to be detrimental for at least one of the two competitions.
All signs point to a draw
Wolfsburg has so far celebrated an impressive home campaign. In fact, it is still unbeaten at home, which somehow appears to have slipped the headlines of most publications. Nonetheless, it is unquestionably a marvellous achievement, one which teams like Bayern, let alone Borussia Dortmund, could not enter in its books this season.
Having said all that, with its mind set on the final at the end of May, we might get to see a slightly more apprehensive Wolfsburg side this time around. Klopp in turn announced a seven-point agenda for the remainder of the season, hinting that he would be satisfied with shared spoils in the Volkswagen city. That way, for Dortmund the ball would be in its court at home against Bremen.
In regard to personnel, Wolfsburg could have some surprises up its sleeve. Expect the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Bas Dost or Andre Schuerrle to possibly get a rest or find themselves experimenting with new roles on the pitch.
For Dortmund, the most notable name once again could be Mitch Langerak, who German media purports could have made the breakthrough in goal and at last superseded Roman Weidenfeller. Benching Langerak at this point seems nonsensical as Dortmund marches on undefeated since he was called on by Klopp. Arguably partly due to him, BVB are remarkably stable in defence, which just bolsters the impression that we could be looking at a draw as the outcome. Wolfsburg, likewise, proved its aptitude in shutting down defensively time and time again, not just in its 4-1 home thrashing of Bayern Munich.
Last but not least, Dortmund and Wolfsburg already drew this season, sharing the spoils at 2-2 after a highly entertaining show at the Westfalenstadion.
It is known that Klopp and Hecking hold each other in high regard and have become friends off the pitch. They both know what is at stake now, and what will be in about two weeks time. Therefore, it is fair to assume both sides would not insist on this meeting if they had a choice, but Bundesliga business is Bundesliga business.
Needless to say, there are always situational factors that can sway the match one way or another, but as it stands, the set up oozes stalemate.
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