Osnabrück vs Bayern Munich Preview: 15,741 Voices Against the Cup Holders
The final tie of the DFB-Pokal first round sends the holders to a sold-out 15,741-seat ground they have not visited since 2004. VfL Osnabrück are three games into life a division higher than they are used to; Bayern Munich arrive on the back of a Supercup win and a 5-1 opening-day statement.
A Cup Tie That Had to Wait for the Holders
First-round ties in Germany are normally played before the Bundesliga gets going. This one was pushed into September because Bayern were otherwise engaged: Vincent Kompany's side beat Borussia Dortmund 2-1 in the German Supercup on 22 August, which meant their opening tie in the competition they won in May had to be rescheduled. Osnabrück have had an extra fortnight to think about it.
What they get is a full house. The Bremer Brücke has not hosted Bayern since 2004, and the tie is sold out at 15,741 — a number that is roughly a quarter of the Allianz Arena but will feel considerably louder. For a club that spent the previous two seasons in the third tier and only came up via the 3. Liga title, it is the biggest night the ground has staged in a generation.
Bayern, for their part, are not treating it as a formality. Kompany has introduced a rule barring players from leaving Munich in the 48 hours before a fixture, and the squad that travelled is a strong one even with rotation expected. They have won the competition a record 21 times, but the recent history is oddly patchy: since 2020-21 they have also recorded three second-round exits, a round-of-16 defeat and a quarter-final defeat, which is exactly why the holders will not want to be the story of the round.
Head-to-Head: Three Meetings in 48 Years
| Date | Result | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| 21 Sep 2004 | Osnabrück 2-3 Bayern | Bremer Brücke |
| 2001 | Bayern win | Bremer Brücke |
| 1978 | Osnabrück win | Munich |
These two have met only three times in competitive football across 48 years, and Osnabrück have lost two of them. Detailed scorelines for the 1978 and 2001 ties are not held in the public records we could verify, so we have listed the winners only. The 2004 meeting is the one everyone in Osnabrück remembers: a 2-3 defeat that was closer than the gap between the clubs suggested.
Four Talking Points
1. Osnabrück have teeth, but no back door
Timo Schultz's side have found the net in every 2. Bundesliga match so far, including three at Heidenheim on the opening weekend. The problem is at the other end: 2.33 goals conceded per game since promotion, one clean sheet across seven competitive fixtures, and a 0-1 defeat at Bochum last time out. They have also gone two home matches without a win, conceding four and scoring once, and have been held to a goal or fewer in three of their last four at the Bremer Brücke. Ismail Badjie and Leon Opitz have three goals apiece; Bjarke Jacobsen is the midfield engine who makes them go.
2. Bayern's away record in Germany is the real headline
Kompany's side are 20 domestic matches unbeaten, with 17 wins in that run, and have gone 32 domestic away matches without defeat — 26 of those won, and three or more goals scored in 21 of them. They opened this campaign by putting five past Stuttgart, a week after winning the Supercup at Dortmund, and last season's 122 league goals (3.6 per game) appear to have carried over. Seven goals in two matches suggests the rhythm has not gone anywhere.
3. Rotation, and what it says about the squad
Bayern are expected to change heavily. Jonas Urbig should start in place of Manuel Neuer, with Jonathan Tah and Hiroki Itō at centre-back, Tom Bischof pushing alongside Aleksandar Pavlović in midfield, and a front line drawn from Lennart Karl, Ismael Saibari, Luis Díaz and Arijon Ibrahimović. That depth is the point: Saibari arrived from PSV and Nathaniel Brown from Eintracht Frankfurt for around €50m each in the summer, and Kompany has leaned on the academy for the rest rather than adding another senior signing.
4. A third straight first-round exit is the thing Osnabrück fear
The hosts have gone out at the first-round stage in each of the last two seasons and are desperate to avoid a third. Schultz is expected to name close to his strongest available side in a 3-4-3 shape, with Robin Fabinski, Jannik Müller and Niklas Wiemann across the back and the front three of Adrian Beck, Leonhard Münst and Robin Meißner carrying the threat. A tight, hostile opening twenty minutes is the plan; what happens after that is the hard part.
Predicted Lineups
VfL Osnabrück
- Krumrey
- Fabinski, Müller, Wiemann
- Kammerbauer, Wagner, Jacobsen, Badjie
- Beck, Münst, Meißner
Expected to be close to full strength. The back three has conceded four in two home matches; Jacobsen is the player who links midfield to the front three.
Bayern Munich
- Urbig
- Laimer, Itō, Tah, Stanišić
- Bischof, Pavlović
- Karl, Saibari, Díaz
- Ibrahimović
Heavy rotation expected after the 5-1 win over Stuttgart. Urbig comes in for Neuer; the front four is drawn largely from the younger end of the squad.
Key Battle: Bjarke Jacobsen vs the Bayern Double Pivot
If Osnabrück are to make this uncomfortable, it happens in midfield. Jacobsen is the side's driving force, the player responsible for getting the ball quickly to Beck, Münst and Meißner before a back line that has already shipped six league goals is exposed. Against a 2. Bundesliga press he has time; against Bayern he will not.
On the other side, Bischof and Pavlović are the pair asked to control a match Bayern expect to dominate. Squeeze Jacobsen and Osnabrück's transitions die before they start, leaving the front three feeding on scraps. Give him a yard and the home crowd gets the moment it has bought a ticket for. It is the sort of duel that decides nothing on the scoresheet and everything on the night.
What to Wear on Wednesday Night
Cup nights in Germany have a particular look: floodlights, terraces, and a shirt that reads clearly from the back row. Here are the Bayern shirts we would reach for.
Bayern 26/27 Matchday
Swipe to browse 5 shirts
Long Sleeve, Kids & Women
Swipe to browse 4 shirts
