The Bundesliga’s matchday 11 saw Wolfsburg host Bayern Leverkusen at the Volkswagen Arena. Both sides were without a league win for several games, and both floating aimlessly in mid-table. In a cagey affair which saw the two sides go toe to toe, Karim Bellarabi’s first-half goal and Paulinho’s injury-time doubler was enough to seal three points to take back to Leverkusen.
This tactical analysis will dissect the two sides’ tactics and use analysis to highlight how key areas of their systems lead to the outcome of the match, a 2-0 away victory for Peter Bosz’s outfit.
Lineups
Wolfsburg deployed a 3-4-2-1 for the tie, which Oliver Glasner has shown a strong preference to all season. The Austrian often alternates between the 3-4-2-1 and a 3-4-3, which are very similar in principle and only differ in how narrow or wide the two advanced wingers play. In terms of personnel changes, Glasner made two alterations to his starting lineup from the 3-1, Europa League defeat to Gent in midweek. Renato Steffen and Josip Brekalo made way for Jerome Roussillon and Felix Klaus.
In the away dugout, Bosz opted for a 4-2-3-1, despite the above graphic from Wyscout listing the lineup as a 4-4-1-1. Although very similar, the formations differ in how advanced the wingers are, who were predominantly relatively high up the pitch in this Bundesliga clash. Therefore, the tactics deployed by Leverkusen were the same as that which they used in the midweek 2-1 victory over Atletico Madrid at the BayArena in the Champions League; with no changes in the starting XI either.
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