Wolfsburg entertain Hoffenheim in a Bundesliga fixture at the Volkswagen Arena on Sunday, with both sides sat in the bottom half of the table and separated by a single point.
The hosts, along with Bayer Leverkusen, are one of only two Bundesliga sides who remain unbeaten at this stage of the season, but bizarrely have drawn five out of their six games.
The visitors are winless in four Bundesliga games with their last victory coming against Bayern Munich back in September.
STARTING LINEUPS
KICK-OFF
Wolfsburg get us up and running at the Volkswagen Arena.
2 mins: Ryan Sessegnon swings in a teasing delivery from the left but his cross is punched clear by Koen Casteels.
3 mins: Maximilian Arnold slides in Jérôme Roussillon down the left-hand side with a superbly executed defence-splitting pass. The left-back cuts it back to Josip Brekalo who strikes at goal, but his effort is saved behind for a corner by Oliver Baumann.
4 mins: Penalty shout for Hoffenheim as Munas Dabbur goes down under the challenge of Brekalo, but the referee is unmoved. The Croatian definitely got a good chunk of the ball there.
5 mins: DISALLOWED! Renato Steffen has the ball in the back of the net, rifling home into the bottom corner after being neatly slotted through by Maximilian Philipp, but the flag is up for offside.
Embed from Getty ImagesGOAL! WOLFSBURG 1-0 HOFFENHEIM (STEFFEN 5)
Wow. Steffen’s goal was checked by VAR and the Swiss winger was deemed to be onside – the goal stands. The hosts have an early lead.
10 mins: It’s been a frantic start to proceedings here at the Volkswagen Arena. The game appears very open.
16 mins: Things have just started to settle down a bit now following that action-packed opening 10 mins.
22 mins: Brekalo has a crack from just outside the box but slices his effort way over the bar.
GOAL! WOLFSBURG 2-0 HOFFENHEIM (WEGHORST 26)
The home side have two efforts thwarted by the Hoffenheim backline, but Wout Weghorst was not going to miss at the third time of asking. Steffen’s initial attempt was saved by Baumann, which led to Weghorst having a shot blocked by a defender, but the Dutch striker was eventually able to stick the ball in the back of the net – striking past two Hoffenheim defenders who were covering their keeper in the six-yard box.
29 mins: Christoph Baumgartner is the first man to go into the referee’s book following a clumsy challenge on Arnold.
30 mins: Arnold has a pop at goal from range but sees his effort sail just over the angle of post and bar.
35 mins: Arnold has gone down after being caught in the back of the head by Diadie Samassekou in a well-contested aerial duel.
36 mins: Arnold is happy to continue after having his head patched up by the Wolfsburg medical team.
40 mins: Ishak Belfodil takes Florian Grillitsch’s clever flick on the edge of the box in his stride, accelerates past Maxence Lacroix and steers a shot with the outside of his foot just wide of the mark. Best chance of the game so far for the visitors.
45 mins: Belfodil does tremendously well to navigate his way down the left-hand side and attempts to cut it back for a teammate, but is unable to pick out a blue shirt.
45 mins: There will be five minutes of added time at the end of this thrilling first-half.
45+3 mins: Sebastian Rudy picks up a yellow card for protesting to the referee that the ball was still in play when he got to the byline and delivered a cross. In fairness to the German midfielder, his protests were probably justified as the ball did look to have still been in play.
HALF-TIME
Wolfsburg 2-0 Hoffenheim
Die Wölfe take a deserved two-goal lead into half-time following a dominant first-half display. The away side have it all to do in the second half.
SECOND-HALF BEGINS
We’re back underway in Wolfsburg.
48 mins: John Brooks collects a booking for pulling on Belfodil’s shirt as the Algerian forward attempted to drive down the right-wing.
52 mins: Brekalo cuts inside from the left and skips several challenges to find space and get a shot away, but his effort is straight down the throat of Baumann.
55 mins: Hoffenheim are caught completely off guard as Arnold plays in Roussillon down the left-hand side from a cleverly disguised free-kick, however, Baumann is equal to the Frenchman’s effort on goal.
58 mins: Arnold whips in a dangerous cross from the right-hand side which is spilt by Baumann, but no Wolfsburg players were able to latch onto the ball before it was cleared away by Hoffenheim.
59 mins: Hoffenheim make their first changes of the game with Grillitsch and Belfodil making way for Sargis Adamyan and Mijat Gaćinović.
62 mins: The hosts make their first substitution of the game as Admir Mehmedi comes on for Philipp.
64 mins: Baumgartner finds himself in a dangerous position in the penalty area, but Casteels was quick to smother him.
65 mins: Brekalo fizzes a dangerous low cross into the box from the left-hand side but it evades everyone. Weghorst was closest to it but was unable to get any contact on the ball.
71 mins: Two more changes for Wolfsburg see Yannick Gerhardt and João Victor replace Steffen and Brekalo.
73 mins: Rudy floats a delicate ball into Dabbur whose looping header is tipped over the bar for a corner by Casteels.
74 mins: Another change for the visitors as Ihlas Bebou comes on for Samassekou. That’s a really attacking move from Sebastian Hoeness.
80 mins: The away side have looked increasingly threatening in these last 10 minutes. They’ve still got time to find a way back into this game.
80 mins: Baumgartner sends in a wonderful cross from the left with the outside of his right boot – Gaćinović gets on the end of it, but his flicked effort on goal hits the side netting.
82 mins: PENALTY! The home side are awarded a penalty against the run of play as Kevin Vogt brings down Xaver Schlager, who looked set to tap home into an empty net after an effort from Weghorst was parried into his path by Baumann. Vogt is handed a yellow card for the challenge.
Embed from Getty Images84 mins: MISSED! Weghorst is unable to even hit the target from the spot as his penalty slides wide of Baumann’s post. Huge chance missed to put the icing on the cake for the home side.
Embed from Getty Images86 mins: Gaćinović nods a cross from the left-hand side into the path of Adamyan whose close-range shot is saved behind for a corner by Casteels. The Belgian keeper looks set to be a busy man in the final stages of this one.
86 mins: Hoffenheim have sacrificed a defender for a striker as Melayro Bogarde is replaced by João Klauss. Kitchen sink time for the visitors.
GOAL! WOLFSBURG 2-1 HOFFENHEIM (ADAMYAN 87)
Brooks completely misjudges his header from a long ball as Adamyan runs in behind him and pelts one into the bottom corner through the keepers legs to claim his third goal in as many days following on from his Europa League brace in mid-week. The substitute has made a fantastic impact for the away side so far.
90 mins: Marin Pongračić comes on for Schlager to try and stabilise the Wolfsburg defence in these final few minutes.
90 mins: There will be four minutes of added time. Can Hoffenheim find a dramatic late equaliser?
90+2 mins: Hoffenheim have a free-kick in a very dangerous area as Gerhardt brings down Dabbur just outside the box.
90+3 mins: Baumgartner’s free-kick hits the wall and goes behind for a corner, which Baumann is coming up for.
90+3 mins: PENALTY! Would you believe it? The resulting corner strikes Arnold’s hand in an aerial duel with Baumann of all people, and the referee points to the spot. What an opportunity for the visitors to snatch a point right at the death.
Embed from Getty Images90+4 mins: SAVED! Dabbur’s penalty is denied by Casteels. Unbelievable scenes here at the Volkswagen Arena. The three points are surely staying with Wolfsburg now.
Embed from Getty ImagesFULL-TIME
Wolfsburg 2-1 Hoffenheim
Wolfsburg continue their unbeaten run in the Bundesliga with a thoroughly entertaining 2-1 win over Hoffenheim, a victory which sees them climb to 6th in the table.
Hoffenheim were unable to translate their European form into this match, with their winless run in the league now stretching to five games. In fairness to Die Kraichgauer, they rallied well in the final 20 minutes but ultimately didn’t do enough to get anything from what turned out to be a highly exhilarating contest. Dabbur will certainly be left rueing his last-minute penalty miss.
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