With a win at VfL Wolfsburg, FC Salzburg would secure their place in the last 16 on the fourth Champions League matchday. In view of the change of coach at Wolfsburg, however, head coach Matthias Jaissle expects a completely different team than in the 3:1 home victory a fortnight ago.
It was less than a fortnight ago when FC Salzburg celebrated a 3:1 home win against VfL Wolfsburg And yet, the situation ahead of the “second leg” in Germany seems to be completely different than it was in October: Florian Kohfeldt replaced Mark van Bommel as VfL head coach and got the team back on track with a 2-0 win at Bayer Leverkusen last weekend.
Kohfeldt did not rate his contribution to the first “three-goal win” after eight games without a win in a row too highly, but the Salzburgers should now expect a much more confident team than on matchday three. At least that’s what head coach Matthias Jaissle assumes. “Basically, due to the change of coach, they showed a completely different face at the weekend than they did in the first leg,” the German emphasised at the pre-match press conference.
Jaissle sees new virtues at VfL
There was a team on the pitch that “really fought for each other”. “That was quite noticeable. They showed some virtues that they might have lacked against us in the first leg,” said Jaissle. He therefore expects “certainly a different game” than in Salzburg.
Probably also because striker Wout Weghorst returns to the Wolfsburg squad after his Corona infection. Goalkeeper Philipp Köhn is therefore preparing for a different task: “Of course it makes a difference if someone is two metres in front. (…) But we are – no matter who plays – well prepared. “
This was also underlined by Jaissle, who was naturally aware of the change in Wolfsburg’s basic order. Against Leverkusen, VfL no longer operated in a 4-2-3-1, but in a 3-4-2-1 basic order. “We are preparing for both systems. We also have a plan if it becomes a completely different one,” said the 33-year-old, who, however, does not expect Kohfeldt to make any changes in view of the success in Leverkusen.
Salzburg still unbeaten
The Salzburgers themselves also have little reason for change. Jaissle is still unbeaten with the “Bullen”, and with a win in Wolfsburg the Austrian serial champions would reach the last 16 of the Champions League for the first time in the club’s history.
However, Jaissle does not feel any additional pressure because of that: “In fact, it doesn’t matter at all.” Instead, he says, they will try to repeat their performances from the first three games: “We are capable of upsetting big teams from Germany, Spain and France this season. That’s what we set out to do before the season. We’ll be very happy to continue that tomorrow. “