VfL Osnabrück 2026/27 preview: transfers, pre-season, predicted XI and predictions | OneFootball

VfL Osnabrück return to the 2.Bundesliga for the first time since 2023-24, aiming to avoid the drop. They won the 3.Liga in 2025-26 with 24 wins, 8 draws and 6 defeats, finishing six points clear of Energie Cottbus.

According to BuLi News, Timo Schultz kept pre-season short, focusing on bedding in new faces. A slender 1-0 defeat to Jablonec in mid-July opened proceedings.

They then thrashed Nordhorn 7-0, with Leon Optiz netting a hat-trick, David Kopacz and Konrad Faber also scoring and Bernd Riesselmann adding a brace. Into August, SC Paderborn struck through Mika Baur and Vigo Wernet either side of half-time, a useful tune-up before 1.FC Heidenheim away.

On exits, creative hub Lars Kehl left for SV Darmstadt 98 on a free after 11 assists and 8 goals. Goalkeeper Lukas Jonsson, 32, also departed for Djurgarden on a free having played every league minute and kept 19 clean sheets.

The headline move is Robin Meißner signing permanently for €200,000 after 14 goals and 9 assists. Leon Optiz arrives on loan from Werder Bremen, his Karlsruhe stint stalled but he hit 18 in 14 for Bremen’s reserves. Kiel keeper Jonas Krumrey looks set to start, while Luca Raimund, Joel Abu Hanna and Konrad Faber bolster the squad.

Schultz has depth and versatility, and has trusted 19-year-old Ismail Badjie, while David Kopacz is pushing for starts. Predicted 3-4-2-1: Krumrey, Fabinski, Müller, Abu Hanna, Kammerbauer, Wagner, Jacobsen, Wensing, Badjie, Optiz, Meißner.

Germany’s second division is hard to predict. Logic suggests a survival fight, though Schultz’s nous could deliver a respectable finish above the drop. The opener at 1.FC Heidenheim on Saturday, 8 August should be instructive.

Source: BuLi News

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”