With just one win in their last seven Bundesliga matches before this game, Die Wölfe’s season appeared to be fizzling out, with a European push looking increasingly unlikely.
They started this one brightly though, as they looked to get the better of Bruno Labbadia’s relegation-battling Stuttgart side for the second time this season, after a 3-2 triumph at Volkswagen Arena in October.
The visitors had a clear chance to take the lead after Paulo Otávio’s sweeping through-ball split open the Stuttgart defence. Jakub Kamiński latched onto the ball and tried to curl it past Fabian Bredlow, but the goalkeeper was equal to it with a smart save.
Die Schwaben, donning their special rainbow-coloured ‘diversity’ kit instead of their traditional red and white, worked hard, but Gil Dias’ saved long-range drive was the best they were able to show for a quiet first half.
The game was looking short of chances, but Wolfsburg didn’t need a clear-cut opportunity to take the lead as Omar Marmoush fired in in the game’s opener early in the second period.
Having collected the ball in midfield, the former Stuttgart marksman arrowed an unstoppable strike into the bottom corner from well outside the area.
Having opened his account against his former employers, the Egyptian was hungry for more, and almost turned creator when Kevin Paredes had the ball in the net, but the offside flag was on hand to save Stuttgart’s blushes.
An increasingly frustrated home crowd beckoned their team to produce some excitement in attack, but aside from some half-hearted claims for handball against Sebastiaan Bornauw, there was very little for Stuttgart to shout about in the opposing box.
Wolfsburg saw out the narrow victory, and go into the international break with a small boost, while other results mean the home side drop into the automatic relegation place.
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