Wolfsburg vs Schalke Preview

That win was only the Royal Blues' second in what has been a desperately disappointing start to the Bundesliga season.

But Magath feels it could be a turning point.

"That important victory has made an impression on the whole team," he said.

"The atmosphere is good in the dressing room and in training and the team seems relieved.

"I hope we can now make the most of that in Wolfsburg.

"We will go there looking to bring something back to Gelsenkirchen. We are strong enough to dominate our opponents and we want to impose ourselves on the game."

Magath returns to the scene of his finest hour in Wolfsburg.

He led the Wolves to the Bundesliga title in 2009 and still has many friends in the Lower Saxony city, not least among the playing staff.

"I would say that around 50% of Felix Magath is still in this team," said Wolfsburg captain Josue on the club's official website.

"Grafite, (Manuel) Schafer, (Edin) Dzeko and I - this team started to play together under Magath."

Grafite won the Bundesliga's top goalscorer award under Magath and he too is looking forward to seeing his former mentor, even though he will be trying to beat him.

"It is a special game for me because Magath comes back to the VW-Arena, but he is now on the other side and we will be looking to play a good game and beat his new club," he said.

"I enjoyed the best moments of my football career in the Bundesliga with Felix Magath here in 2009.

"I am looking forward to seeing him and speaking to him, but then we have still got to win."

Indeed, Wolfsburg are not faring much better than their opponents with six defeats from their first 11 matches.

"We want to win, no matter who the opponents are," said Wolves coach Steve McClaren.

"That is the most important thing for us at the moment."