Back to the three-man defense? Koulierakis in the starting eleven? Hasenhüttl’s defense questions

Ready for the starting eleven? VfL newcomer Konstantinos Koulierakis (right, in a duel with Omar Marmoush) was used in the final minutes against Frankfurt.
IMAGO/Jan Huebner

Wolfsburg’s defensive plan was clear during the preparation: for weeks, coach Ralph Hasenhüttl had his team play with a three-man defense chain, even in the test against a selection of regional amateur footballers (9:0) he chose the approach with three center backs. Until the start of the competitive game in the cup against TuS Koblenz (1:0), when the Austrian had to replace the injured defense boss Maxence Lacroix (now at Crystal Palace) at half-time.

VfL then played with a back four and kept this up at the start of the Bundesliga. “Out of necessity,” explained Hasenhüttl, “and then it worked well.” But will it stay that way? Or will the coach return to a back three or five on Sunday (3.30 p.m., LIVE! on kicker) against champions Bayer Leverkusen?

“We get the basics brutally on the pitch”

Hasenhüttl regularly stresses that the formation is not all that important. “It doesn’t matter whether it’s a back four or a back three,” the 57-year-old stresses, “the automatisms and the intensity have to be right.” And the Austrian recently noted positively that “our defensive behavior has become more intense overall because we’ve brutally got the basics onto the pitch.” The statistics show VfL as the team with the most sprints and the most intensive runs in the league.

Against champions Bayer, VfL’s focus will inevitably be on defense. Stand compact, switch quickly, that’s the plan against Leverkusen. Fast strikers like Mohammed Amoura or Tiago Tomas up front? And three center backs at the back? The personnel shortage in defense is no longer an issue, because Wolfsburg signed two more defensive players in Konstantinos Koulierakis and last-minute transfer Denis Vavro.

Are Koulierakis and Vavro ready for the starting lineup?

Hasenhüttl said it was too early for the defensive duo to be in the starting eleven last weekend against Eintracht Frankfurt (1:2). The two national players, who were away on international matches, had not yet internalized the processes. Now they are a week and a few training sessions later – and are ready for the starting line-up?

In addition to the system question, Hasenhüttl also has to answer the personnel question one way or another. It is expected that the 11.75 million Euro man Koulierakis, who played as a left-back in the final minutes against Frankfurt, will move into the starting phase, regardless of the chain question. As a left-footer, he would normally displace Cedric Zesiger.

Sebastiaan Bornauw is considered the defensive boss and new vice-captain, and if Hasenhüttl decides on a three-man defense, Vavro could make his VfL debut on the right. The 28-year-old Slovakian arrived from FC Copenhagen on the last day of the transfer window. “He is an internationally capable defender,” VfL sports director Sebastian Schindzielorz emphasized when he signed the club.

Back on track? Kaminski could benefit from it

Another system change would benefit one VfL professional in particular: Jakub Kaminski. The Pole had become the “winner of the preparation” as a left-wing player, but the switch to a back four, where he now has to play in the unfamiliar position of left-back, robbed him of his great offensive quality. Kaminski invests a lot, and yet it becomes clear in every game that the current role is not optimal for him. He would probably benefit the most from another system change.