VfL Osnabrück vs. Bayern Munich DFB-Pokal preview: Team news and predicted lineups
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The first round of the 2026/27 DFB-Pokal comes to a conclusion on Wednesday night, as 2. Bundesliga outfit VfL Osnabrück take on reigning champions Bayern Munich at 20:45 CEST.
VfL Osnabrück secured their first win of the season when they beat VfL Bochum away from home at the weekend. Spurred on by that result, the 2. Bundesliga side will hope to produce a cup miracle when they welcome Bayern to the Bremer Brücke.
“It's the DFB Pokal, it has its own rules. We want to reach the second round, even against Bayern Munich,” VfL Osnabrück head coach Timo Schultz told Sport1.
“The Bremer Brücke is a very special stadium. I know the odds probably aren't in our favor, but anything is possible in the DFB Pokal. Bayern Munich won it last year; but in the six years prior, they only reached the quarterfinals at best. The game starts at 0-0, we're playing eleven against eleven. We'll see what happens”
They certainly have a tough task on their hands, facing the German champions, who kicked off their new Bundesliga campaign with a comfortable 5-1 victory over VfB Stuttgart last Friday.
However, despite Bayern being overwhelming favourites, head coach Vincent Kompany is not taking anything for granted.
“Once you’ve been in the final, you always want to get there again. Our opponents were Stuttgart; they’d reached the final twice in a row. We want to achieve that now too. Anyone can have that dream – even Osnabrück dream of special moments in this competition," he said at a press conference on Tuesday.
"Last year, it all started against Wiesbaden, which wasn’t easy. These matches are usually tough. That’s part and parcel of the cup competition. You have to be mentally prepared for a real battle.”
Team news and predicted lineups:
VfL Osnabrück have no new injury concerns and are likely to stick with the same starting XI that secured a 1-0 win over VfL Bochum at the weekend.
As for Bayern, Vincent Kompany confirmed on Tuesday that Jonas Urbig will get the chance in goal instead of Manuel Neuer, while Jonathan Tah, Tom Bischof and new signing Ismael Saibari are also expected to come into the starting XI.
It's unclear whether Jamal Musiala will be included in the squad, with the club continuing to manage his return following the absence seizures he suffered during pre-season.
Serge Gnabry will certainly miss out for the German champions as he continues his recovery from injury.
Click here to see our predicted VfL Osnabrück vs. Bayern Munich lineups.
