Highlights
0:15
WATCH: HRADECKY: "I'M HAPPY FOR PAULINHO"
0:15
WATCH: NMECHA: "WE COULD HAVE WON, WE HAD THE BETTER CHANCES"
90'
+ 5
LEVERKUSEN CEMENT THIRD PLACE
The scoreline is somewhat flattering for Leverkusen and doesn't necessarily reflect the balance of play, but Paulinho was the difference in the end. The Brazilian youngster came off the bench in the 81st minute and proved clinical with his two chances, finishing both to earn the visitors all three points.
Full-time
90'
+ 2
PAULINHO SEALS THE WIN!
Talk about a supersub! Wolfsburg are caught out on the counter as they push for an equaliser and Demirbay floats a cross in from the left. Paulinho is unmarked at the back post and leaps to direct his header inside the near post for his second of the game!
90'
HRADECKY TO THE RESCUE!
Wolfsburg very nearly equalise as Baku delivers another looping cross from the right into the box and finds Bornauw at the back post. He heads it back across goal and the ball looks to be bouncing in until Hradecky gets down to claw it away. The linesman's flag goes up for offside so it wouldn't have counted, but Hradecky wasn't to know that.
90'
Speed check: The fastest player in the game after 90 minutes
Speed check: The fastest player in the game after 90 minutes
Through high-end camera technology and machine learning, the speed of each player is evaluated in real time. Top speed then means, the fastest measured single frame of a player/game.
88'
Substitution
87'
PAULINHO BREAKS THE DEADLOCK!
Paulinho robs Vranckx of the ball in the middle of the park and immediately drives forward into space. The Wolfsburg defence backs off him, allowing the Brazilian to shoot. He duly accepts the invitation and drills a low, swerving shot past Pervan!
85'
WALDSCHMIDT SKEWS WIDE
Baku plays a wonderful first-time pass from the right into the centre, where Waldschmidt is arriving. It's a tricky one to take and he doesn't quite catch it right, sending the ball well wide of the target.
81'
MORE CHANGES
The teams continue to cancel each other out, so the coaches are rolling the dice once again, making attacking changes for the final few minutes.
81'
Substitution
81'
Substitution
81'
Substitution
80'
ADLI HAS A GO
The Leverkusen winger collects the ball on the right wing, scurries towards the penalty area and then cuts inside past Brooks and Roussillon onto his favoured left foot. He gets a shot away, but his low drive is straight at Hradecky, who makes a comfortable save.
NO WAY THROUGH
© IMAGO/CB/IMAGO/Claus Bergmann
74'
TRIPLE CHANGE FOR WOLFSBURG
Florian Kohfeldt counters those Leverkusen substitutions by making three changes of his own. Waldschimdt comes on in attack for Wind, Baku replaces Mbabu on the right flank and Vranckx will take charge of central midfield in place of Schlager.
74'
Substitution
74'
Substitution
74'
Substitution
73'
DOUBLE CHANGE FOR LEVERKUSEN
Gerardo Seoane is attempting to inject a bit more dynamism into his side going forward by bringing on Alario and Aranguiz for Azmoun and Bellarabi. Will they have the desired effect?
73'
Substitution
73'
Substitution
72'
DEMIRBAY SHOOTS
Diaby lays the ball off to Diaby, who gets a shot away from the left-hand side of the area, about 15 yards out. It's straight at Pervan though.
69'
GOALS ALL BUT GUARANTEED
Leverkusen have yet to be involved in a 0-0 draw in the Bundesliga this season.
66'
FIRST SUB OF THE GAME
It's a like-for-like replacement as Bakker makes way for Ecuadorian defender Hincapie at left-back.
65'
Substitution
62'
KRUSE HEADER
Arnold swings in a free-kick from the right and finds the head of Kruse, but his effort loops up and is an easy one for Hradecky to catch.
58'
GOALS ON THE WAY?
xGoals
The xGoals value of a club is calculated from the sum of all goal probabilities (goals and shots on goal) of that team. During a match, it’s easy to see whether the club is performing better than expected (goals > xGoals) - or maybe even higher (xGoals > goals).
xGoals
0
1.65
0.94
0
Goals
56'
WIND HITS THE POST!
Mbabu drills a low pass from the right into the feet of Wind, on the edge of the penalty area. The Dane's first touch is superb, allowing him to turn into space and get a shot off before the Leverkusen defence know what's happened. Hradecky is beaten, but Wind's shot strikes the base of the post and rebounds clear!
53'
...OUT FOR A CORNER
Demirbay strikes the free-kick well enough, but the wall does its job and deflects the ball out for a corner.
52'
FREE-KICK FOR LEVERKUSEN...
Arnold fouls Andrich in a dangerous area, a few yards outside the box, right of centre. It's perfect for Demirbay, who's setting himself to take it...
49'
CHANCE FOR BELLARABI!
Diaby finds space on the left for what seems like the first time all match. He has time and space to deliver a brilliant cross into the middle, where Bellarabi is arriving, but the bounce is awkward for the Leverkusen No.38 and he can only direct his shot over the bar.
46'
UNDER WAY AGAIN
Wolfsburg kick off the second half.
Kick-off!
ALL SQUARE AT THE BREAK
© Stuart Franklin/Getty Images
Half-time
41'
OVER FROM AZMOUN!
A brief respite for Leverkusen as Bellarabi attacks down the right and lays the ball off on the edge of the area to Azmoun, who hits a first-time strike brilliantly, but marginally over the bar.
37'
JOY DOWN THE RIGHT
Almost all of Wolfsburg's forward forays are coming down the right, where Mbabu is finding plenty of space and Lacroix continues to pick him out with laser-guided passes from deep. All that's missing is the final ball into the box.
32'
WOLFSBURG ON TOP
Goal attempts
5off target
3on target
3off target
1on target
30'
Speed check: The fastest player in the game after 30 minutes
Speed check: The fastest player in the game after 30 minutes
Through high-end camera technology and machine learning, the speed of each player is evaluated in real time. Top speed then means, the fastest measured single frame of a player/game.
28'
SCHLAGER FIRES WIDE
The Austrian receives possession about 20 yards from goal. He shuffles on to his preferred left foot and gets a shot away, but it's deflected wide for a corner.
27'
SCHLAGER ALMOST IN
Lacroix with another brilliant pass out from the back, this time for Schlager, who's found space between the Leverkusen defenders. He's called back for offside though.
23'
ARNOLD HITS THE BAR!
Maxi Arnold hits a sensational free-kick from a good 35 yards. It's swerving but heading in until Hradecky gets a hand on the ball to tip it onto the bar before it bounces clear. So close!
ADLI LIVELY
© Stuart Franklin/Getty Images
20'
EVEN STEVENS
18'
NMECHA RUNS CLEAR
Lacroix takes a leaf out of Demirbay's book and picks a hole in the Leverkusen defence with a pass out from the back. Nmecha charges into the box with just Hradecky to beat, but the visiting goalkeeper makes a big save with his foot.
16'
ADLI AGAIN!
Demirbay with a brilliant pass to split open the Wolfsburg defence. Adli finds himself free in front of goal with just Pervan to beat, but snatches at his shot and fires over! The visitors should be ahead here!
15'
THREE AT THE BACK
The absence of Frimpong has forced a shift in Leverkusen's approach, with Gerardo Seoane setting his side up in a 3-4-1-2. Kossounou, Tah and Tapsoba are at the back, with Diaby alongside Azmoun up top.
13'
ADLI FIRES WIDE
A Leverkusen corner is only half cleared to the edge of the box, where Adli is lurking. The Frenchman strikes it first time, but it loops well wide of the target.
10'
ADLI BOOKED
The Leverkusen winger is the first player in the referee's notebook today after a late tackle on Lacroix.
6'
FIRST CHANCE OF THE GAME
Bakker plays a brilliant curling ball up the left wing. It catches Wolfsburg completely off guard and allows Adli to dart into the left-hand side of the box. It's a tight angle but he has to go for the shot because there's nobody in support, but hit's it straight at Pervan.
4'
SCRAPPY START
The teams are still trying to find their feet in the match. Possession is swapping sides every few seconds, with both sets of players thundering into tackles in midfield.
1'
HERE WE GO!
Leverkusen get the ball rolling at the Volkswagen Arena.
Kick-off!
IN THE TUNNEL
The teams are lined up and ready to go. We'll be under way shortly!
0:20
WATCH: LEVERKUSEN WARMING UP
FULL CIRCLE FOR KOHFELDT
Following the departure of Mark van Bommel, Kohfeldt's first game in charge of the Wolves was that 2-0 success over Leverkusen on Matchday 10. Since then Wolfsburg have won a further four, drawn three and lost nine in the Bundesliga.
FIRST START FOR AZMOUN
The Iranian forward has made two substitute appearances totalling 25 minutes for Leverkusen since arriving from Zenit at the end of January, but leads the line here as he returns to full fitness. Bellarabi begins for the first time since 6 February, while Andrich for the first time since 18 February.
2:03
WATCH: PREVIOUS MEETING: LEVERKUSEN 0-2 WOLFSBURG
HEAD-TO-HEAD
This will be the 50th Bundesliga meeting between these teams. Leverkusen have the upper hand overall having won 22 games to Wolfsburg's 19 (eight draws), but the Wolves have triumphed in three of the last four (all incidentally in Leverkusen), drawing the other 0-0 at the Volkswagen Arena.
0:16
WATCH: WOLFSBURG PITCH INSPECTION
TEAM NEWS - WOLFSBURG
Wolfsburg head coach Florian Kohfeldt has only made one change from the side that lost 3-2 to Freiburg last weekend: Lukas Nmecha begins in attack in place of Maximilian Philipp, supporting Max Kruse and Jonas Wind. Kevin Mbabu is preferred at right wing-back ahead of Ridle Baku, with Jerome Roussillon getting the nod on the opposite flank.
TEAM NEWS - LEVERKUSEN
The visitors are without three key players today on Schick, Wirtz and Frimpong. The former is edging back to fitness after a month on the sidelines, but the latter two have been ruled out for the rest of the season after sustaining serious injuries against Cologne last week. As such, winter signing Sardar Azmoun begins up top ahead of Lucas Alario, while Karim Bellarabi and Edmond Tapsoba have been drafted in to replace Wirtz and Frimpong. Robert Andrich will add bite in central midfield alongside Kerem Demirbay.
WOLFSBURG STARTING XI
Pervan - Lacroix, Bornauw, Brooks - Mbabu, Schlager, Arnold (c), Roussillon - Kruse, L. Nmecha - Wind
WOLFSBURG SUBS
Klinger, Waldschmidt, Vranckx, Steffen, Baku, Bialek, F. Nmecha, Lukebakio, Gerhardt
LEVERKUSEN STARTING LINE-UP
Hradecky (c) - Kossounou, Tah, Tapsoba, Bakker - Andrich, Demirbay - Bellarabi, Diaby, Adli - Azmoun
LEVERKUSEN SUBS
Grill, Lomb, Paulinho, Alario, Baumgartlinger, Aranguiz, Sinkgraven, Palacios, Hincapie
Welcome along!
Here you can find all the information about Wolfsburg against Leverkusen on Matchday 27.