Confirmed lineups: VfL Wolfsburg vs. SC Paderborn 07

VfL Wolfsburg (7-8-19, 16th Bundesliga) face SC Paderborn 07 (18-8-8, 3rd 2. Bundesliga) in the first leg of the Bundesliga promotion-relegation playoff at Volkswagen Arena. Kickoff is set for 20:30 (CET).

Volkswagen Arena ahead of the match between VfL Wolfsburg and FC Bayern München, 9. May 2026.

(Photo by Oliver Hardt / Getty Images)

VfL Wolfsburg (7-8-19, 16th Bundesliga) host SC Paderborn 07 (18-8-8, 3rd 2. Bundesliga) at the Volkswagen Arena, in the first leg of the promotion-relegation playoff to determine who takes the eighteenth and final Bundesliga spot in the 2026/27 season.

Wolfsburg are 2-3-4 in their nine matches during the second spell of 61-year-old head coach Dieter Hecking, the most recent result of which was a 3-1 victory against FC St. Pauli at Millerntor-Stadion in Hamburg this past weekend that relegated Der Freibeuter and sent Die Wölfe to only their second promotion-relegation playoff in history, their first since 2016/17. Wolfsburg have never been relegated from the Bundesliga in their 81-year history.

Paderborn went 4-4-2 in the final ten matches of the 2. Bundesliga season - and qualified for this playoff tie on the final day, beating out another Niedersachsen club, Hannover 96, by winning 2-0 away at SV Darmstadt 98 and watching a 3-3 draw between Hannover and 1. FC Nürnberg. Paderborn are looking to make it to the Bundesliga for only the third season in their history, after their 2014/15 and 2019/20 seasons both ended in last-place finishes and direct relegation back into the second tier.

Below are the confirmed lineups for the first leg of the playoff tie.

CONFIRMED WOLFSURG VS. PADERBORN LINEUPS

VfL Wolfsburg (3-3-2-2): Grabara - Koulierakis, Vavro, Belocian - Mæhle, Gerhardt, Kumbedi - Eriksen, Svanberg - Daghim, Pejčinović.

SC Paderborn 07 (3-4-2-1): Seimen - Brackelmann, Scheller, Hansen - Sticker, Castañeda, Klaas, Curda - Bilbija, Müller - Marino.