Wolfsburg vs VfB Stuttgart preview - Hecking wary of Stuttgart

Posted Friday, April 03, 2015 by PA

Wolfsburg coach Dieter Hecking wants his side to wrap up a place in the Champions League next season as quickly as possible, but has warned it will not be easy to get three points against Stuttgart on Saturday.

The Wolves are 15 points clear of fifth-placed Schalke and can seal a top-four berth with three more wins and a draw from their final eight games of the season, assuming the Royal Blues take maximum points.

They face a side who are propping up the rest of the division this weekend, but that does not mean a win can be taken for granted.

"Stuttgart were on the verge of total collapse a fortnight ago when they were 1-0 behind to Frankfurt, but then like a phoenix from the flames they came back and turned the game around," Hecking said.

"That will have given them plenty of self-confidence and they are going to come to Wolfsburg looking to create an upset."

Wolfsburg's confidence is also high, though, and they will be looking to keep it that way heading into a defining few weeks of the season for them.

After hosting Stuttgart, they face Freiburg in the quarter-finals of the DFB-Pokal next Tuesday before welcoming Napoli to the VW-Arena for a last-eight Europa League tie the following week.

"This game brings us onto the final straight and it's going to be important for us, aside from the DFB-Pokal and the Europa League, to secure second place relatively quickly so we can reach our goal of qualifying for the Champions League," added Hecking, who was pleased to welcome back all of his players from international duty in good shape and good spirits.

"One or two of them have come back with plenty of self-confidence," he added.

Stuttgart's win over Eintracht Frankfurt a fortnight ago was a step in the right direction, even though they probably could have done without the international break coming between them and their next game.

"But we've worked well and had some fun," coach Huub Stevens said. "We picked up three points against Frankfurt - nothing more and nothing less. We're still at the bottom.

"Despite being 18th, we've proven that we have the quality. That's got to give us confidence."