Eintracht Braunschweig 2026/27 season preview: Transfers, pre-season, predicted lineup & predictions

Surely no one expected that … Eintracht Braunschweig got off to an outstanding start with a 6-1 victory away at Magdeburg. However, the magical performance shouldn’t change their goal for the season.

How was their 2025/26?

That’s because it’s only with a single goal difference that Braunschweig secured automatic safety in the final matchday of the season. Had they lost more than 1-0 to Schalke or Greuther Fürth added a fourth against Fortuna Düsseldorf, who also finished with the same points tally as the two clubs, the Lions would’ve entered the playoff tie against RW Essen.

Some could even point out to the fact that Braunschweig started the 2025/26 with two victories, with the first one away at Magdeburg like this term. However, they only had one win in their next 12 matches.

They also picked up form at the end of the year before collecting only six points from their first eight outings in 2026. Narrow wins over Kaiserslautern and Dynamo Dresden eventually helped them to finish just above the relegation zone in 15th place.

The Coach

Including Saturday’s big win, 48-year-old Lars Kornetka won four of his first ten games in charge of the club. The Würselen-native was able to work with some of the top coaches in world football, starting from his roles as a video analyst.

Pep Guardiola, Ralf Rangnick, Roger Schmidt and Huub Stevens are among the head coaches for whom Kornetka assisted in varying capacities. The former journalist is now preparing for his first full season as a head coach.

Transfers

Braunschweig’s new signings delivered immediately in the 6-1 trouncing of Magdeburg. Borussia Mönchengladbach loanee Jan Urbich scored on his 2. Bundesliga debut, while Samuele Di Benedetto was a constant threat from set-pieces.

Fellow attackers Yann Sturm and Junior Zé also have potential to help the side in the final third. However, the captain Ron-Thorben Hoffmann and the four defenders were all at the club last season.

Pre-season preparations

Braunschweig were winless in their last three friendly games, including a narrow defeat to Championship side Southampton after a goal from former Köln and HSV attacker Damion Downs.

Nonetheless, the team that only scored once in those three games started the league campaign with half-dozen goals away from home.

Predicted starting lineup

There are few reasons to make changes for Kornetka after the first starting lineup of the season produced a historic performance. However, former prospect Noah Katterbach and last season’s regular Johan Gómez will hope to push for starting berths.

Florian Flick will be a key player in midfield after his loan move turned permanent in the summer. Fellow new signing Maximilian Entrup, who won the Austrian league and cup with LASK last season, will provide competition for Urbich to be the starting striker.

Predicted Lineup (4-3-3): Hoffmann ©; Aydin, Ehlers, Frenkert, Sanchez; Flick, Di Benedetto, Marie; Opoku, Urbich, Sturm

Fixture list

Braunschweig’s first home game will be against Bochum before they entertain Union Berlin at EINTRACHT-Stadion the following week in the first round of the DFB-Pokal. The final game of the league season will be against last season’s Bundesliga cellar-dwellers St. Pauli.

Although they will now face two more teams from Lower Saxony due to Wolfsburg’s relegation and Osnabrück’s promotion, the real derby for Braunschweig will always be against Hannover. The two teams will meet on matchday 9 and 26 this season.

Expectations & Prediction

It’ll be tough to predict relegation after they dispatched Magdeburg on the opening matchday, but they should still be prepared for another fight until the very end. With newly-promoted Osnabrück scoring three goals away at 2024/25 Europa Conference League participants Heidenheim, there is another sign that anything could happen at the start of a season.