Form and Line-up: Wolfsburg
Despite horrific results in 2026, the club hierarchy corrected the situation with a second coaching change. Dieter Hecking returned to the club, and his experience has brought stability to the team. Wolfsburg got what it needed over the key stretch – beating Union Berlin 2:1 in mid-April and then dismantling St Pauli 3:1 away on the final Bundesliga matchday, having gone into that head-to-head level on points (both on 26 points before kick-off). In Hamburg the visitors were far more dangerous in front of goal (4.06-1.99 xG), taking full advantage of the home side's open style.
Key numbers for Wolfsburg:
Wolfsburg have suffered only one defeat (0:1 against Bayern Munich) in their last five matches.
Under Hecking, Wolfsburg have conceded two or more goals in only two of nine matches.
Across the three May rounds Wolfsburg generated 8.44 xG – the third-best figure in the Bundesliga.
Probable Wolfsburg line-up (3-5-2): Kamil Grabara — Konstantinos Koulierakis, Denis Vavro, Jeanuel Belocian — Joakim Maehle, Lovro Majer, Christian Eriksen, Mattias Svanberg, Sael Kumbedi — Dzenan Pejcinovic, Adam Daghim
Absentees: Vini Souza (suspension), Rogerio, Patrick Wimmer, Maximilian Arnold, Kilian Fischer, Jonas Wind, Jenson Seelt, Bence Dardai (all injured)
Form and Line-up: Paderborn
In the first half of April, Paderborn, coached by Ralf Kettemann, looked, along with Schalke 04, the main contender for automatic promotion to the top flight. Then the team collapsed: four rounds in a row without a win and 11 goals conceded in total across those matches. Even a 2:0 victory over Darmstadt in the final game was not enough for promotion – Elversberg won their parallel match and went up to the Bundesliga on tie-breakers, with both sides finishing on 62 points.
Key numbers for Paderborn:
In nine away matches in 2026, the side coached by Ralf Kettemann have managed only three wins.
Paderborn have kept just two clean sheets in their last 12 matches. Among the top eight sides in the 2. Bundesliga, only Kaiserslautern have conceded more.
Paderborn have never beaten Wolfsburg in an official match.
Probable Paderborn line-up (3-4-2-1): Dennis Seimen — Calvin Brackelmann, Tjark Scheller, Mattes Hansen — Jonah Sticker, Santiago Castaneda, Mika Baur, Laurin Curda — Filip Bilbija, Ruben Muller — Stefano Marino
Absentees: Raphael Obermair, Marcel Hoffmeier (both injured)
