Wolfsburg Searching for Second Cup Win

The quarter-finals of the DFB Pokal in Germany continue Wednesday night as Schalke entertain Wolfsburg at the Veltins Arena.

Schalke are hoping to qualify for the Champions League through their Bundesliga position this season and have every chance of being successful.  However, they are too far behind Bayern Munich to be considered title contenders which means the cup is their best hope of silverware this season.

Wolfsburg have won the DFB Pokal once in their history and would like nothing more than to make it two this season.  The tournament has been a welcome distraction from their relegation battle in the Bundesliga.

Schalke come into this match having suffered a disappointing defeat at the hands of Werder Bremen.  They were in-front for much of the match and conceded a goal in the last minute of the game to lose 2-1.

The defeat adds to what has been a very inconsistent period of the season and trends show Schalke have won one, drawn one lost two of their four games following the winter break. Compare this to seven wins and six draws in their thirteen matches in all competitions prior to the winter break and Schalke will be unhappy with their start to 2018.

Scoring goals at home has been a major plus for Schalke this season and they have netted at least once in all but one of their home games in all competitions.  Only Bayern Munich have prevented Schalke from scoring a goal at the Veltins Arena.

Wolfsburg travel for this match having picked up a point in their 1-1 draw at home with Stuttgart on the weekend.

That result means they have also been struggling to win matches following the winter break and have won one of their four games in 2018, drawing two and losing one.  However, away form has picked up since the turn of the year, with a draw at Borussia Dortmund and win at Hannover.

Prior to the point at Borussia Dortmund, Wolfsburg had lost three and drawn four of their away matches.

Wolfsburg have not been the most entertaining team to watch away from home in recent games and they been keeping things tight at the back to the detriment of their attacking play.  Wolfsburg have conceded only 1 goal in their last five away competitive games but have scored only 3 themselves, two of which came in the cup win at Nurnberg.

Team news and Schalke will be without central defender Pablo Insua and central midfielder Weston McKennie who are both out until March at the earliest.  Matija Nastasic is available having been suspended in the Bundesliga.

Wolfsburg also have a few injury problems ahead of this game and could be without Ignacio Camacho, Jakub Blaszczykowski and John Brooks.

Schalke will see this as the perfect time to get back to winning ways but Wolfsburg have been tough to beat in recent away games.  This match has the potential to go all the way to extra-time and penalties.