Pre-Match Notes: After an impressive 3-0 win against Eintracht Frankfurt, the VfL Wolfsburg Frauen will be facing FC Nürnberg for their second regular season meeting. Nürnberg are currently coming off of a loss to SGS Essen.

This has been a busy and difficult week for VfL Wolfsburg fans. Earlier in the week there were rumors of midfielder, Lena Oberdorf, leaving VfL Wolfsburg in the summer to sign for rivals, Bayern Munich. The rumors were confirmed on Thursday, February 15th. Lena Oberdorf will be leaving the She-Wolves in the summer by her own request. At the same time, defender, Dominique Janssen, is likely to be leaving in the summer as well.

On the upside, Wolfsburg has signed SC Freiburg midfielder, and DFB national team player, Janina Minge, for the upcoming season. Wolfsburg is most likely hoping that Minge will be able to fill Oberdorf’s position as a defensive midfielder. Minge is a promising player. Her primary position is defensive midfielder, but she can also fill the attacking and central midfield positions as well.

Whether Minge will be able to fill Oberdorf’s shoes, and meet Wolfsburg’s stern expectations has yet to be seen. Most likely there is going to be a lot of pressure on Minge to perform and do well. It could be a challenge for her when it comes to getting adjusted to the team and how they play. Hopefully Minge will be able to handle the pressure, meet those challenges head-on and put her talent, hard work, and efforts on display to Wolfsburg and the Wolfsburg fans.

While we may have to wait for Minge’s arrival, another player that is needing to step up more is Chantal Hagel. Hagel has been used as a defensive midfielder for Wolfsburg, sometimes subbing in for Oberdorf. While she tends to be more involved in the attack, if she wants to fulfill that defensive midfielder position, she needs to maintain better control of the midfield. However, the same can also be said about Wolfsburg’s midfield in general. Overall, there needs to be better defensive play in Wolfsburg’s midfield. This means better control, better recoveries, and quick responses to an opposing team’s counterattacks and transitions.

While Oberdorf’s signing with Bayern Munich may be disheartening to Wolfsburg fans, the current season is still going on. Wolfsburg needs to continue to put up a fight this season, and be ready to face their current challenges and obstacles, in this case, the opposing team, FC Nürnberg.

Wolfsburg can definitely come away with a win in this match. In their first meeting this season, Wolfsburg came away with a 1-0 win. The scoreline can be higher this time around, but Wolfsburg is needing to connect in the attack and finish their chances. I would like to see better control and movement in the midfield. An attacking midfield of Huth, Jónsdóttir and Endemann would allow for more chances to be created, and would see Jónsdóttir and Endemann making more attempts on goal.

Line Up Notes:

Starting Eleven: We have Merle Frohms in the goal. For defenders, Kathrin Hendrich, Marina Hegering, Joelle Wedermeyer, and Nuria Rábano. In the midfield and attack: Lena Oberdorf, Chantal Hagel, Svenja Huth, Vivien Endemann, Ewa Pajor, and Alexandra Popp.

It’s an all right line up, but I still believe Tommy Stroot isn’t getting this team’s full potential out of it. As mentioned earlier, and in Wolfsburg’s last match against Eintracht Frankfurt, an attacking midfield of Huth, Endemann, and Jónsdóttir would be a lot better for Wolfsburg because it would maximize the chances and opportunities created by the Wolfsburg attack on the wings. Starting those three players together would move Pajor from the wing and back to her original position up top as a striker. In the current line up, Pajor is acting as both a winger and striker, and sharing that striker position with Popp, another striker.

Additionally, when it comes to Wolfsburg’s attack, while connecting in the attack is important, the team needs to finish and put away their chances as early as possible. Unless Wolfsburg wants a repeat of their match against Bayer Leverkusen a few weeks ago, finishing and having good support in the box is something that the attack needs to focus on.

Lena Lattwein is currently missing from the line-up, and instead Hagel is starting in her place. Because of this, I would like to see Hagel step up more in the midfield. I would like to see her getting more involved in the attack and making her presence known more. At the same time, I would like to see her be more aggressive when it comes to controlling the midfield, i.e., recovering possession and winning 1v1s. With Oberdorf leaving in the summer, this is where fans are needing to see Hagel shine on the pitch.

When it comes to Wolfsburg’s backline, they should do well in this match, and may not face much opposition from FC Nürnberg. Wolfsburg’s midfield and attack will have no issues maintaining control and possession, however, like always, the backline needs to watch out for Nürnberg’s counterattacks and transitions. Besides that, the backline should have no issue when it comes to recovering possession and regaining control.

First Half Notes

VfL Wolfsburg 4-1.

Wolfsburg Goal scorers for this half: Endemann (1), Pajor (1), Popp (2).

Endemann would score first off a cross in the box from Pajor. Nürnberg would tie things up a moment later due to a mistake from Frohms. Popp would bring the score line to 2-1 after a cross from Pajor. Pajor would make it 3-1 after a service from Endemann. Some poor defending from Nürnberg would lead to Popp scoring her second goal, ending the first half 4-1.

It took a while for Wolfsburg to get adjusted in this half. Early and in the middle of the first half, there wasn’t much connection in the box. There was good movement and touches on the ball from the midfield and attack; however, it was frustrating early on because, despite Wolfsburg having all that possession and control, they weren’t doing much with it. This would change as the match went on. Wolfsburg would eventually find that much-needed connection in the attack and in the box, and the rest would be history.

A concerning area for Wolfsburg in this half, has to be their backline and defense. When it comes to Nürnberg’s counterattacks and transitions, Wolfsburg’s responses are slow and lack a sense of urgency. There were some dangerous mistakes from the backline, with Rábano narrowly avoided two fouls outside the Wolfsburg box, and a goalkeeping error from Frohms that would lead to Nürnberg tying things up temporarily.

Additionally, Nürnberg has been sending in many long balls and passes into the Wolfsburg box, and at times, the backline would be struggling to recover those passes. There needs to be better awareness from the Wolfsburg backline. The backline needs to do better at reading those passes, along with having better positioning, and cleaner recoveries.

Overall, it’s not a bad first half, however, I would like to see Wolfsburg take more control, and continue creating more chances for the attack.

Second Half/Closing Notes

VfL Wolfsburg Wins 9-1.

Goal scorers for Wolfsburg: Endemann (1), Popp (2), Pajor (4), Hagel (1), Kalma (1).

This second half went as expected for Wolfsburg. It was a very dominant performance from the team, with Pajor even grabbing four goals in this game. The first half was a bit shaky and uncertain at times, but when it came to this second half, Wolfsburg put their attacking prowess on full display, with the additions of Brand, Jónsdóttir, Kalma, and Xhemaili, being subbed on in the second half.

Wolfsburg were in complete control in this half. While they did face pressure in the midfield from Nürnberg in the first half, Wolfsburg seemed to have brushed past it without issue in the second half. Much like the first half there was good connection and touches in the midfield and attack. Additionally, there was more drive and press in the attack as well. Finishing was also solid from Wolfsburg, however in the grand scheme of things, Wolfsburg would have no issue scoring against a team like FC Nürnberg, who at times had some dangerous moments in this game, but was no real threat to a team like VfL Wolfsburg.

Overall, this was a solid and strong performance from the She-Wolves, which will hopefully continue through the rest of their season.