VfL Wolfsburg must win against OSC Lille on Wednesday if they want to reach the last 16 of the Champions League. However: Goal scorer Lukas Nmecha is missing.
It was so unnecessary and hurts even more these days. A fortnight ago in Sevilla (0:2), Lukas Nmecha had grumbled his way out of what was now the “final” in Group G at the last minute because the referee had penalised a handball by the Wolfsburg offensive man. Now the 22-year-old, who has scored two of VfL’s four goals this Champions League season, is missing.
Who will replace Nmecha against Lille on Wednesday? It is clear that Wout Weghorst is still set up front, but the Dutchman is still waiting for his first goal in the top flight. Coach Florian Kohfeldt has plenty of choice for the two positions behind him. Dodi Lukebakio has been given two starts recently, but after a decent performance against Dortmund (1:3) he disappointed again on Saturday in Mainz (0:3) and added another chapter to his up-and-down weeks in Wolfsburg.
Yannick Gerhardt, who has recently lost his regular place, would possibly be the wrong signal in an attacking role in the all-or-nothing game against the French. Renato Steffen could bring the energy Kohfeldt wants into the game, but has been running behind his form lately. The same goes for Maximilian Philipp.
It sounds like a guaranteed start
That leaves Luca Waldschmidt, who moved to Wolfsburg from Benfica Lisbon in the summer and hasn’t really arrived yet. Long-standing injury problems hampered the offensive man, who initially played in pain. Nevertheless, he already collected one goal and two assists in the Bundesliga before having to take a week-long break.
Now the 25-year-old is pain-free – and already ready to replace Nmecha? “Luca is definitely ready to be a starting candidate “, says coach Kohfeldt, who almost guarantees his protégé a start. “The probability that he will play is already very high.” The only question is: in the starting eleven or as a wild card?
