Energie Cottbus 2026/27 preview: signings, pre-season, predicted XI and survival prospects | OneFootball

Energie Cottbus return to the 2. Bundesliga for the first time since 2014, after two promotions in three years. According to BuLi News, they begin as clear candidates for an immediate drop back to 3. Liga.

A narrow win in Regensburg clinched promotion on the final day after a strong start and four wins from the last five. Erik Engelhardt scored 22 without penalties, while Tolcay Ciğerci delivered 17 goals and 12 assists.

A comeback 5-3 at RW Essen on matchday 34 proved pivotal, as Essen then lost twice and Cottbus edged VfL Osnabrück to finish second. They had placed fourth the previous season.

Head coach Claus-Dieter Wollitz, 61, also serves as sporting director in his third spell since 2021. A disciplinarian, he won the DFB-Pokal with Kaiserslautern and the 2. Bundesliga with Köln as a player.

Marcel Lotka replaces Marius Funk in goal. Loans for Luca Erlein and Fousseny Doumbia strengthen defence, while Ryan Malone, Leonardo Bittencourt and Christian Kinsombi also arrive. Lucas Copaldo returns after Paderborn, having scored seven league goals for Cottbus in 2024/25.

Pre-season brought two wins and four defeats from seven, including 5-0 to RB Salzburg and 4-2 against Werder Bremen in two 60-minute halves. A predicted 4-3-3 has Lotka in goal and Engelhardt leading the line.

Hannover visit first, then Arminia Bielefeld, FC Augsburg in the DFB-Pokal and Greuther Fürth before Wolfsburg on matchday 4. The run-in is Holstein Kiel then Kaiserslautern. A relegation fight, possibly via a 16th-place play-off, looks likely.

Source: BuLi News

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