Wolfsburg were expected by many to return to their winning ways and compete right at the top of the Bundesliga this season under new coach Steve McClaren, who became a hero in Enschede as he led FC Twente to the Eredivisie title. However, despite splurging over €30 million on players, die Woelfe's form has been patchy to say the least. And just when it looked as though they had turned the corner, so the inconsistency came back to bite. Three defeats in the last four leave Wolfsburg in 12th position and with Schalke and Stuttgart below them beginning to get their act together, a win against die Koenigsblauen is sorely needed.
One of McClaren's first acts as head coach was to appoint last season's torjaeger Edin Dzeko, who topped the league's scoring charts with 22 goals, as the new club captain, in place of Brazilian battler Josue. It was very much a political move by the Englishman who wanted to placate the Bosnian and keep him at the VW-Arena. On a purely sporting basis, Josue has more experience and greater leadership qualities, which Wolfsburg manager Dieter Hoeness feels are lacking in the squad at the moment.
"The team are in mid-table because they cannot concentrate for the full 90 minutes in order to deliver a high-level of performance. The character is fine but they lack that little extra bit of hunger, leadership and a winning mentality. In the Bundesliga, mentality triumphs over individual quality," he told Bild.
McClaren meanwhile is in agreement with Hoeness and gunning for a win against last year's runners-up.
"Schalke are a very strong team and also have very good players. They had a bad start to the season but we want to win irrespective of who the opponent is. That is the most important task for us at the moment and the key lies in our concentration over the whole game."
Looking For The First Goal
One of the recurring themes of this season's Bundesliga has been the collective holding of breath as everyone (except a certain yellow and black corner of Nordrhein-Westfalen!) waits for this expensively assembled side with the maverick but brilliant coach to hit its straps. After the Schalke engine threatening to splutter into life on several occasions, Felix Magath feels that last week's 3-0 win over St Pauli may well herald the start of a consistent run of form.
"The team did very well in the game against St Pauli. The sense of achievement was felt by all the players and the atmosphere was good in training," Magath told the club's official website.
"It was important that we had some respite after several Englische Wochen [where teams have midweek matches]. We had been travelling a lot in midweek or we had international games. We're going to Wolfsburg to bring points back to Gelsenkirchen. Wolfsburg have a good side with many strong individuals as I know only too well from my time there. However, we are strong enough to get a grip on our opponents and we want to play our own game."
Magath identified the first goal as key to his side's success, pointing out that it brings confidence to the team, with the St Pauli win a case in point. Die Knappen's most likely scorer is Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, comfortably the most prolific Schalker this season with six league goals.
"He is fit and he can play so long as nothing untoward happens," Magath said of the Dutchman who had a slight knee problem.
TEAM NEWS
Wolfsburg
Steve McClaren looks set to return to the 4-2-3-1 system, with which he began the season, which means that Grafite returns to the bench. Alexander Madlung looks set to replace Andrea Barzagli in the back-line. Edin Dzeko and Marcel Schaefer both skipped training during the week but both are fit for the weekend. Only Arne Friedrich is unavailable as he returns from a long-term back problem.
Probable Starting XI: Benaglio - Pekarik, Kjaer, Madlung, Schaefer - Riether, Josue - Mandzukic, Diego, Dejagah - Dzeko
Schalke
Felix Magath is without Nicolas Plestan, who has the flu and long-term casualties Levan Kenia and Tim Hoogland. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar had been a doubt with a knee problem but he will start upfront alongside Raul while Christoph Moritz looks set to keep his midfield slot thanks to a face-mask, which will cover his broken cheekbone.
Probable Starting XI: Neuer - Uchida, Hoewedes, Metzelder, Schmitz - Farfan, Moritz, Jones, Jurado - Raul, Huntelaar
Prediction
VfL Wolfsburg 1-1 Schalke 04 
