We thought that the first defeat for Xabi Alonso’s team (2:3 against Leipzig) in what felt like an eternity would throw Leverkusen off track, but we were very wrong. The 4:1 in Hoffenheim last weekend and especially the 4:0 in the Champions League at Feyenoord Rotterdam speak volumes.

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“That was a great performance, no question about it. It’s no secret that we’re up against quality on Sunday,” said VfL coach Ralph Hasenhüttl, referring to the Werkself’s performance in the Netherlands. The Wolfsburg coach believes the defending champions are the favorites to win the championship this season – ahead of Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and his former club Leipzig.

The key question will be whether the “Wolves”, who have so far only managed the obligatory win against newly promoted Holstein Kiel, will be able to stop this performance today (3.30 p.m./in the NDR Livecenter).

Will Leverkusen spare Wirtz against Wolfsburg?

Florian Wirtz was once again the key to Alonso’s men’s strong performances. In Rotterdam, the playmaker once again excelled – with two goals. “Rotterdam is gone. The Bundesliga is our goal, our daily work. We have to focus on that,” said Alonso, who assumes that all players will be available to play against Lower Saxony. The Bayer coach has not yet revealed whether Wirtz will be given a break: “He has played a lot for us and in the national team. We will have to see. I have an idea, but we’ll wait until Sunday.”

Hasenhüttl could rebuild the defence

However, Hasenhüttl and Co. would do well to prepare for Wirtz. When they met in the second half of last season, the Wolves were unable to use their numerical superiority to their advantage. Leverkusen won 2-0 in the end – Wirtz sealed the deal shortly before the end. At that time, however, Niko Kovac was still head coach at VfL.

His successor could now also field two players who have not played a role recently. Summer signing Konstantinos Koulierakis, 20 years old and a 1.88 meter tall Greek defender, is, according to Hasenhüttl, “definitely ready in terms of his fitness level and match practice” to make his debut in the starting eleven.

And Aster Vranckx could narrow Wirtz’s circles. The Belgian midfielder has “a robustness and a quality on the ball that can always help us,” explained Hasenhüttl, under whom Vranckx played in the starting lineup towards the end of last season before missing the last few games due to injury. After a first brief appearance, the coach recently stressed: “Aster is on the way.”

Possible lineups

Leverkusen: Kovar – Hincapie, Tah, Tapsoba – Frimpong, Xhaka, Andrich, Grimaldo – Adli, Wirtz – Boniface
Form check Wolfsburg Grabara – Fischer, Bornauw, Koulierakis – Baku, Arnold, Özcan, Kaminski – Amoura, Tiago Tomas – Wimmer

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