All to play for in top-five clash

VfL Wolfsburg (3-3-1, 5th) play host to 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 (4-2-1, 3rd) in 2. Bundesliga action at Volkswagen Arena. Kickoff is set for Saturday, 13.00 (CET).

VFL WOLFSBURG

For the second consecutive week, Tobias Strobl’s VfL Wolfsburg (3-3-1, 5th) will take on a top-5 team in the German second division after a thrilling 4-4 draw with unbeaten 1. FC Nürnberg in the Saturday primetime match last weekend.

Wolfsburg have the second-most goals (19) and are tied for the most shots (134) in this current 2. Bundesliga campaign, well ahead of Heidenheim (13 and 110) in these regards. One way that Wolfsburg could potentially win this match is through setting up offside traps, given that Heidenheim have been vulnerable to this over the course of the season: Frank Schmidt’s side have managed twenty-one offsides, third-most, whereas Wolfsburg have only committed four, the least of any side.

Both Wolfsburg and 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 relegated from the Bundesliga last season, having faced each other at the top level for the last three seasons; last season, with an almost completely different squad, Wolfsburg won the away match 3-1 but drew the home encounter with a 1-1 result. Wolfsburg are 5-2-1 against Hoffenheim all-time, dating back to 2014 when Dieter Hecking’s side defeated their opposition 4-1 on the path to the club’s only DFB-Pokal title.

Team News

The injury list for VfL Wolfsburg remains unchanged from last week, with five to report. German goalkeeper Timon Wellenreuther (knee), Brazilian-French centre-back Rogério (muscle), Belgian-Congolese centre-back Aster Vranckx (unknown), German-Nigerian winger Trevor Benedict (unknown), and Scottish-English centre-forward Fraser Hornby (Achilles heel) are all out of the picture for this match, with their returns unknown.

1. FC HEIDENHEIM 1846

On the other side of the field are Frank Schmidt’s 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 (4-2-1, 3rd) – who will not be able to move up the table due to a significant goal difference for 1. FC Nürnberg (+10 compared to +2), but can drop to as far down as sixth with a defeat and victories for 1. FC Magdeburg / 1. FC Kaiserslautern.

This match is not expected to be an aggressive contest by any means, with both sides in the bottom half of the card category: Wolfsburg with 14 yellows and 1 red, Heidenheim with 11 yellows. Heidenheim are expected to bring more of a wing-based attacking strategy to this matchup, though: they have delivered 139 crosses in total so far this season, compared to 126 from Wolfsburg. Heidenheim have also managed slightly more successful interceptions compared to Wolfsburg this season, 71 to 65.

Marcel Costly will be Heidenheim’s player to watch for this match, as he looks to challenge Wolfsburg’s Fabian Reese and Hertha BSC’s Josip Brekalo for the assist lead in 2026/27. Reese and Brekalo both have five assists this season, while the 30-year-old German winger currently has three to his name.

Team News

Heidenheim have only two injuries to report, both having to do with their attacking line. German-Ghanaian winger Sirlord Conteh (fitness) is set to return to the squad within the next two weeks, and the return date for German centre-forward Maximilian Breunig (torn muscle fibre) is unknown.

Projected Lineups

Click here to view the projected lineups for the Wolfsburg – Heidenheim match.