German Bundesliga relegation play-off match-ups between the VfL Wolfsburg and Eintracht Braunschweig are coming our way with the first leg taking place at Volkswagen Arena on Thursday. Relegation play-off is the clash of two matches, at home and on the road, between 16th ranked team in the Top German Bundesliga and the 3rd ranked team from the Second German Bundesliga (Zweita) in order to determine which team will play in which competition next year. The winner will compete in the Top German Bundesliga and the loser will play in Zweita next season. Here, we have prepared for you the in-depth analysis of the following showdown that is considered as the game of the season for both of these teams, so let’s take a closer look.
VfL WOLFSBURG vs. EINTRACHT BRAUNSCHWEIG
3-Way: 1: VfL Wolfsburg -167; X: +325 Draw; Eintracht Braunschweig +630
Spread -1: VfL Wolfsburg +100; Eintracht Braunschweig -102
Total +2.5: Over +108; Under -114
VfL WOLFSBURG
The Wolves fans are most probably disappointed with their team’s performances this year but the most important match-up of the season is yet to be played and the players definitely need their support now. Poor start and consistent streaks of bad results in the German Bundesliga has led the team to a finish at the 16th spot in league table with 37 points, same number as the FSV Mainz 05 who finished the season at No. 15 spot but with a worse goal difference.
Team had a chance to secure the survival in the last round of the regular season in direct live-or-die duel at Hamburg but they managed to lose this game (2:1), even though a draw was enough. After starting the match in a furious style Robin Knoche scored an opener after 22 minutes of play, but after that the Wolves let the field initiative to the home team, allowing Filip Kostic to equalize 13 minutes before the break. In the 88th minute of the game, Gian-Luca Waldschmidt scored a header to send the stands frantic and secure the survival for Hamburger SV, while sending the Wolves below the relegation line.
The VfL Wolfsburg team finished the regular season with a 2-1-5 record in the last eight games and 1-1-2 record in the last four home matches. Their overall record is 10-7-17 (5-3-9 at home; 5-4-8 on the road). They averaged 1.00 goal scored and 1.53 goals conceded per match overall (0.88-1.47 at home, 1.12-1.59 away). 50% of their total matches had over 2.5 goals (53% at home) and 21% of their total matches had over 3.5 goals in total (18% at home). 18% of their home games had over 4.5 goals in total and over 2.5 goals at the half-time.
In only one home soil match-up during the German Bundesliga season, the Wolves managed to score at least one goal in both halves while they managed to concede at least one goal in both halves in four games at Volkswagen Arena. Most common results at home were 1:2 loss, 1:0 loss and 1:0 win (all occurred three times) while most common score at the halftime was 0:0 (occurred six times).
German striker Mario Gomez topped the team in scoring this season with 16 goals while the newcomer Yunus Malli recorded seven. Malli topped the team in assisting with eight assists while passing segment belonged to midfielder Luiz Gustavo and defender Robin Knoche with 84.1% and 82.7% of accurate passes. Goalkeepers Diego Benaglio (14 appearances) and Koen Casteels (20 appearances) collected 108 saves and had 11 games with clean sheets combined.
Jeffrey Bruma (Knee) is out for Thursday whie Riechedly Bazoer’s (Knee), Jakub Blaszcykowski’s (Groin), Sebastian Jung’s (Thigh)and Paul Seguin’s (unknown) statuses are unknown. Ricardo Rodriguez (Ankle) and Ismail Azzaoui (Cruciate ligament) are day to day.
EINTRACHT BRAUNSCHWEIG
The team from Braunschweig was consistently good in the Second German Bundesliga throughout the season, earning a No.3 spot in the league table after the end of regular season. They have collected 66 points, only one less than No.2 Hannover 96 and three less than the Zweita’s Champions, Stuttgart.
It’s amazing how close they were to avoiding the play-off game and qualify directly, but two road defeats that occurred in the last three visiting rounds cost Braunschweig greatly as the team from Hannover leapfrogged them and took the last direct-qualifying spot from their grasp. Especially troubling was the road meltdown at Bielefeld on May 14th when team got humiliated by Arminia, 6:0. Other interesting fact is that Eintracht lost every road game against the team’s that were ranked top five in the Zweita league table this season.
On the stat sheet, team looks pretty good. They are 5-2-1 in the last eight match-ups and 1-1-2 in the last four road games. Overall league record this season was 19-9-6 (13-3-1- at home and 6-6-5 away). Goal difference was 50-36 (35-17 on home soil and 15-19 when visiting). 59% of Eintracht’s overall games had under 2.5 goals (82% on the road) and 79% of their overall matches had under 3.5 goals in total (88% on the road) while no visiting game had over 2.5 goals at the half-time.
Team managed to score at least one goal in both halves in 18% of their away matches while they managed to concede at least one goal in both halves in 12% of their road games. Both teams scored in 35% of their visiting games while they managed to keep a clean sheet in 41% of those games. Most common score on the road was 1:1 draw (occurred four times), while most common score at the half-time was 0:0 (occurred seven times).
Domi Kumbela and Christoffer Nyman topped the team in scoring this season with 13 and 11 goals (7th and 9th in the league) while Onel Hernandez and Ken Reichel collected team-high four assists each. Top passers were attacking midfielder Salim Khelifi with 79.1% of accurate passes and Patrick Schonfeld with 75.2% of accurate passes. Bosnian goalkeeper Jasmin Fejzic (34 appearances) collected 85 saves while he also had 13 games with clean sheets.
Marcel Correia (Ankle) and Phil Ofosu-Ayeh (Knee) are both out for Thursday’s matchup.
VfL Wolfsburg vs. Eintracht Braunschweig – Match Prediction
It is very hard to predict the game between the teams that haven’t been competing in the same competition this season but having everything in mind, my safe bet here would be under 2.5 goals in total. Braunschweig has proven to be a very tough opponent on the road while Wolfsburg team earned more points on the road than in front of their own crowd and the Wolves also scored less goals at home than on the road. A 2:0 win for the home team is something that is most likely to happen, which is why I will also take the AH on the Wolves!!!
My pick: Under 2.5 goals (-114)
Additional Pick: VfL Wolfsburg AH -1 (+100)
