Eriksen incident 'changed my life', says Leverkusen boss Hjulmand

Kasper Hjulmand is relishing a reunion with Christian Eriksen as Bayer Leverkusen prepare to face Wolfsburg.

Eriksen signed for Wolfsburg in the summer after leaving Manchester United.

The playmaker was a key part of Hjulmand's Denmark side, though there is one moment that sticks in the mind of the Leverkusen coach.

Hjulmand was in charge of Denmark when Eriksen collapsed on the pitch in Copenhagen at Euro 2020, having suffered cardiac arrest.

Eriksen went on to make a full recovery and enjoy spells at Brentford and United, while he has made seven Bundesliga appearances since joining Wolfsburg, albeit featuring for only 402 minutes in total.

"When there are quieter moments, I sometimes think of him. The situation back then changed my life a bit," Hjulmand said of Eriksen and the incident at Euro 2020.

"After that time, he returned in an international match against the Netherlands and scored after just a few minutes. It was incredibly nice to see him back on the pitch.

"He's a great player and an even better person. I'm looking forward to seeing him again. But I also say: We have one day to go before a match.

"I'm now 100% focused and want to win this game. After the final whistle, if there's time, I can have a chat with him and the others."

Asked if he considered signing Eriksen as a free agent when he joined Leverkusen in September, Hjulmand said: "When I came, our squad had a lot of players in that position, so it was not the right time and place.

"We have lots of quality there, so it was not really an issue. Christian is a fantastic player and an even better person.

"When he starts playing football and you see him train and play, you see a very special player. He understands what he sees around him and he sees more on the pitch than most players. He’s a great player."

Leverkusen sit fifth in the Bundesliga on 20 points, eight adrift of leaders Bayern Munich, who they lost 3-0 to at the start of November. However, Hjulmand's team did bounce back with a 6-0 hammering of Heidenheim last time out.

Wolfsburg, meanwhile, sit 14th on eight points from their 10 matches, with Daniel Bauer now in interim charge following the dismissal of Paul Simonis, who had the worst points-per-game-tally of all Wolfsburg bosses to have managed at least five games in the Bundesliga (0.8).

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Wolfsburg - Maximilian Arnold

Since his Bundesliga debut for Leverkusen in the summer of 2023, no player in the league has scored more direct free-kick goals than Leverkusen's Alejandro Grimaldo (five), but Wolfsburg midfielder Arnold is joint-second alongside Mainz's Nadiem Amiri (both three).

Indeed, since detailed data collection began in 2004-05, only Diego (13) has scored more direct free-kicks in the Bundesliga than Arnold (11, level with Hakan Calhanoglu).

Bayer Leverkusen - Ernest Poku

Poku has been directly involved in five goals (three goals, two assists) in his first five Bundesliga starts for Leverkusen.

Since detailed data collection began in 2004-05, only Patrick Helmes (seven) and Victor Boniface (eight) have better records in their first five Bundesliga starts for the club.

MATCH PREDICTION: BAYER LEVERKUSEN WIN

Wolfsburg have lost six of their last seven Bundesliga matches (W1) and their eight points after 10 games is also a joint-club record low, matching their start from the 2012-13 season.

Plus, Wolfsburg are without a win in their last seven Bundesliga games against Leverkusen (D3 L4), with their last win coming in an away fixture back in October 2021 (2-0).

They are winless in their last nine Bundesliga home games against Leverkusen (D3 L6), a run stretching over ten years since their last victory at the Volkswagen Arena in October 2015 (2-1).

Wolfsburg have failed to win any of their last 13 Bundesliga home games (D7 L6), their longest such run in the competition.

Leverkusen have taken 19 points from their first eight Bundesliga matches under Hjulmand (W6 D1 L1) – only Bayern (22) have collected more in that time. In the club's Bundesliga history, only Jupp Heynckes in 2009 (20 points) collected more points from his first eight games in charge than the Dane.

Patrik Schick is Leverkusen's leading scorer in the league this term (five goals). He scored his 69th Bundesliga goal for the club last time out to draw level with Dimitar Berbatov as their all-time top foreign goalscorer in the competition, having netted against 24 of the 25 different opponents he has faced.

In fact, he has only failed to score against Wolfsburg. 

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Wolfsburg - 29.1%

Draw - 24.9%

Bayer Leverkusen - 46%