VfL Wolfsburg vs. Holstein Kiel: DFB-Pokal preview, team news & predicted lineups

Wolfsburg aim for their first win of the season at Volkswagen Arena when they entertain 2. Bundesliga mid-table club Holstein Kiel.

Wolfsburg recorded their first win since the opening matchday with an underwhelming victory in Hamburg. Paul Simonis’ side will now hope to build on that when they take on Holstein Kiel.

VfL Wolfsburg

Adam Daghim’s goal in Hamburg ended Wolfsburg’s four-game losing run and six-game winless streak. However, Kamil Grabara conceded that they were lucky to pick up all three points despite another lackluster display.

The Polish goalkeeper did play his part with multiple saves, including a first-half injury-time penalty-kick from Ransford Königsdörffer. The result saw Wolfsburg climb into 12th place with eight points from as many games.

However, they’ve only managed to earn two points at home this season. On both occasions, they conceded late goals to Mainz and Köln that led to four dropped points. Half of their goals this season were scored in a 9-0 win over fifth-tier SV Hemelingen in the first round of the cup.

Team News

Christian Eriksen registered his first direct goal involvement over the weekend, and he could keep his place in Wolfsburg’s midfield. Fellow summer signing Jesper Lindstrøm is still out with an adductor injury. Meanwhile, Saël Kumbedi will continue to fill in for the absence of Kilian Fischer in defense.

Holstein Kiel

Kiel picked up a point in their last visit to Wolfsburg, despite their debut Bundesliga season ending in relegation. Back in 2. Bundesliga, Marcel Rapp’s side lost their first two games against SC Paderborn and the newly-promoted Arminia Bielefeld.

They have only lost twice since then, but all their last three fixtures ended in 1-1 draws. Their focus will now turn to the DFB-Pokal, a competition they were knocked out of at this stage in the last couple of seasons.

Kiel’s best Pokal campaign was undoubtedly in the 2020/21 season when they knocked out the mighty Bayern in the second round. They reached the semi-finals for the first time since the 1940-41 season on that occasion.  

Team News

Steven Skrzybski scored the equalizer at Volkswagen Arena last time out, but the experienced attacker will not be available for this one due to an injury.

Predicted Lineups

Wolfsburg: Grabara; Kumbedi, Seelt, Koulierakis, Zehnter; Vinicius Souza, Arnold ©; Daghim, Eriksen, Amoura; Pejcinovic

Kiel: Weiner; Zec, Johansson, Komenda; Bernhardsson ©, Davidsen, Knudsen, Tolkin; Kapralik, Therkelsen; Müller