Wolfsburg embrace favouritism against Freiburg

Wolfsburg are confident of overcoming Freiburg in their DFB Pokal quarter-final on Tuesday, with coach Dieter Hecking unlikely to make too many changes from Saturday’s league win over Stuttgart.

The Bundesliga’s second-placed side have a 29-point lead over Freiburg in the German first division, while Wolfsburg are unbeaten in the past five meetings between the two clubs, winning four times.

The two teams clashed in the Bundesliga on March 15 with Hecking’s men winning 3-0, and Wolfsburg sporting director Klaus Allofs said it makes sense for his club to claim favouritism ahead of Tuesday’s tie at the Volkswagen Arena.

“Without being arrogant, we have the confidence to say that we go to the venue as a favourite in the game,” Allofs told Wolfsburg’s website on Monday.

“We can handle this role. If we do everything right, we will win.”

Wolfsburg will face Freiburg on the back of a 3-1 triumph over Stuttgart, their fifth match without defeat in all competitions.

Hecking left star winger Andre Schurrle out of his starting line-up against Stuttgart, while Maximilian Arnold was suspended.

But anyone claiming Schurrle and Arnold will certainly return, or that Hecking might rest a large number of his regular starters with the UEFA Europa League quarter-finals looming, may be mistaken.

“It will not be a very large rotation because the players had time to regenerate through the international break,” Hecking said.

“Maybe one, two positions slightly changed.”