Relegation battle with Florian Kohfeldt
Who would have thought that VfL Wolfsburg would have to fear for the class again this year after such a stable pre-season? The Wolves are once again in the thick of the Bundesliga’s relegation battle this season and will have to be careful not to be dragged further into the mire after Saturday’s relegation duel against Arminia Bielefeld.
The Wolves still have a small cushion at the moment. With 31 points, they have a five-point lead over 16th and 17th place, which is 23 points less than at the same time last year. However, if the team of the recovered Florian Kohfeldt were to lose at home on Saturday, they would be in the middle of the pack and would have to seriously worry about staying in the league. In that case, it is not impossible that there will be a change of coach at short notice.
The East Westphalians are in the relegation spot. They are five points behind the VfL. The goal on Saturday can therefore only be to take three points away from home. The calculation is simple. With a win, Arminia can breathe a sigh of relief; with a defeat, there is probably one less opponent in the relegation battle. We think that in the Wolfsburg vs. Bielefeld match, the prediction has to go more towards a home win.
Both teams are in a crisis, however, and have more or less staggered through the league in recent weeks. There should rather not be a football festival. Rather, we expect a rather cramped game with many duels but few goals from both teams. That’s why we tend to bet on less than 2.5 goals in the match between Wolfsburg and Bielefeld.
Wolfsburg – Statistics & current form
Surely the Wolves are desperately searching for the reasons for this poor season. It certainly plays a role that the VfL reels off the fewest kilometres per game after Borussia Mönchengladbach. It is not for nothing that it is precisely these teams that fall far short of their own ambitions. In the relegation battle, however, it will now be extremely important for the Wolves to be ready.
Three defeats in a row
When you have a squad with as much quality as the Lower Saxony squad, then you have to speak of a crisis in the current situation. The Wolves are the only team in the Bundesliga to have lost their last three league games. First of all, that doesn’t sound as if the odds on a home win in the match between Wolfsburg and Bielefeld should be compelling.
The defeats in Freiburg and against Leverkusen could still be linked to strong opponents. But what VfL showed last weekend in Augsburg was an absolute minus performance. The Wolves went down without a sound with 0:3. Perhaps it was also because head coach Florian Kohfeldt was in quarantine. If that’s the case, then perhaps the players need to be asked a question of character.
After all, the coach will be back in the game on Saturday and we’ll see whether the Wolves, even after a thunderstorm from Jörg Schmadtke, will now perform differently again. Koen Casteels will return to goal on Saturday and Jerome Roussillon is also expected to make his comeback after overcoming illness. Paulo Otavio and Willian are still missing due to injury.
Predicted Wolfsburg line-up:
Casteels – Lacroix, Bornauw, Brooks – Baku, Schlager, Arnold, Roussillon – Wind, Kruse – L. Nmecha – Coach: Kohfeldt
Last matches played by Wolfsburg:
Bundesliga
04/03 2022 – Augsburg 3 – 0 VfL Wolfsburg
03/20 2022 – VfL Wolfsburg 0 – 2 Bayer Leverkusen
03/12 2022 – SC Freiburg 3 – 2 VfL Wolfsburg
03/05 2022 – VfL Wolfsburg 1 – 0 Union Berlin
02/26 2022 – Gladbach 2 – 2 VfL Wolfsburg
Bielefeld – Statistics & current form
Maybe it’s an advantage of the East Westphalians that they don’t act rashly and immediately question everything, even in the face of setbacks. The Bielefelders knew that it was all about staying in the league and they can still do it on their own. That is why there is not the slightest discussion about coach Frank Kramer at Arminia.
Weak form, especially away
At the same time, the East Westphalians are in last place in the Bundesliga form table at the moment. Only one point has been earned in the last five games. Frank Kramer’s team has lost four matches in a row away from home and has not scored a single goal. This could be an indication to predict a home win without conceding a goal in the match between Wolfsburg and Bielefeld.
One reason why Bielefeld are currently missing a few points are the many draws. With eleven draws, the East Westphalians are the draw king of the Bundesliga. Last weekend, too, Arminia had to settle for a point in a relegation duel. At home against Stuttgart, it was enough for a 1-1 draw after a goal by Florian Krüger.
In the process, attacker Fabian Klos suffered a serious head injury and has already undergone surgery. This was probably his last appearance in the Arminia jersey. Masaya Okugawa is likely to be an option again on Saturday after overcoming gastro-enteritis. A question mark is behind Joakim Nilsson, who had to sit out training during the week due to a cold.
Expected line-up of Bielefeld:
Ortega Moreno – Brunner, Pieper, Nilsson, Andrade – Prietl, Schöpf – Wimmer, Krüger, Hack – Serra – Coach: Kramer
Last matches played by Bielefeld:
Bundesliga
04/02 2022 – Arminia Bielefeld 1 – 1 VfB Stuttgart
03/19 2022 – Mainz 05 4 – 0 Arminia Bielefeld
03/13 2022 – Borussia Dortmund 1 – 0 Arminia Bielefeld
03/04 2022 – Arminia Bielefeld 0 – 1 Augsburg
02/26 2022 – Bayer Leverkusen 3 – 0 Arminia Bielefeld
Wolfsburg – Bielefeld Direct Comparison / H2H Balance
The teams from Wolfsburg and Bielefeld have met a total of 27 times in the Bundesliga, in the lower division and in the DFB Cup. In the direct comparison, the Wolves have a relatively clear lead with 14:6 victories. Seven games ended in a draw. Most recently, Arminia had very little to order against the Wolves.
Wolfsburg have been undefeated against the East Westphalians for seven competitive matches (six wins and one draw). The draw came in the first leg of the current season at the Bielefeld Alm. Masaya Okugawa and Fabian Klos even gave the home side a 2:0 lead. Wout Weghorst first scored the equaliser and just one minute later Lukas Nmecha levelled the score at 2:2.
Wolfsburg – Bielefeld Tip
The question in this relegation duel is who has better control of their nerves. Frank Kramer has the much better experience in the relegation battle compared to Florian Kohfeldt, who could not prevent Werder Bremen’s relegation last season. Both teams are currently in a crisis. Who will succeed in shaking it off on Saturday?
The Wolves have recently conceded three defeats in a row. Arminia have only picked up one point in their last five games and have lost four in a row away from home. These are not good references for both teams.
Bielefeld haven’t managed to beat Wolves in seven games and we think that series will be extended on Saturday. We think it will be a tough game and don’t expect many goals. In the end, we decided to play the betting odds on a win to nil for the hosts between Wolfsburg and Bielefeld.
