Osnabrück vs Bayern München: Prognose, Tipps und Quoten | 02/09/2026

Bayern Munich begin the defence of their DFB-Pokal title away at newly-promoted VfL Osnabrück, freshly crowned 3. Liga champions, returning to the Bremer Brücke for the first time since September 2004.

Vincent Kompany has lost just once in his last eight matches across all competitions, while Timo Schultz is still searching for the defensive solidity that defined his side last season, having conceded seven goals in three league matches.

VfL Osnabrück – Bayern Munich: form and match preview

Osnabrück's return to the 2. Bundesliga has so far produced just one win in three matches, achieved at Bochum in the most recent round thanks to an Ismail Badjie strike in the fourth minute, assisted by Leonhard Münst.

The other two league results were defeats, a 3-4 loss at Heidenheim on the opening weekend followed by a 0-3 setback at home to Magdeburg seven days later.

This mixed start to the season continues a run of contrasting pre-season fixtures, including a 0-2 defeat to newly-promoted Bundesliga side Paderborn and a 0-1 loss in the Czech Republic to Jablonec.

Osnabrück had nonetheless opened their summer on a positive note with a 7-0 win over amateur side Nordhorn, before a 5-3 friendly win over regional club Spelle-Venhaus.

This inconsistency contrasts with last season's record, when the club won the 3. Liga title with the division's best defence.

Bayern's preparation has been almost flawless, with just one defeat in eight matches across all competitions since the start of summer.

That sole setback came at Wiesbaden on 25 July, a 2-1 defeat conceded at an early stage of preparation with a heavily rotated side.

Since then, Kompany's side have won every match, including a resounding 15-0 win over amateur side Rottach-Egern and a tighter 2-1 win over South Korean club Jeju SK during their Asia tour.

Further wins over Aston Villa, RB Leipzig and Heidenheim in friendlies preceded a 2-1 German Supercup win over Borussia Dortmund to open the official part of the season.

That run was capped by a 5-1 demolition of Stuttgart on the opening weekend of the Bundesliga season, with goals shared across four different scorers.

Team news: VfL Osnabrück – Bayern Munich

VfL Osnabrück

Schultz's only confirmed fitness concern remains Jonathan Wensing, who remains a doubt due to a lack of match fitness.

The rest of the squad is available, including summer arrivals Adrian Beck, Daniel-Kofi Kyereh, Konrad Faber, Leon Opitz and Jonas Krumrey, leaving Schultz with a variety of options to choose from.

David Kopacz, who joined Hansa Rostock on 28 August and therefore cannot play for Osnabrück, had been an important part of the promotion campaign.

While many teams rotate heavily in the early rounds of the domestic cup, Schultz is more likely to name his strongest available side to stand a chance against Bayern, so it would be no surprise if he retains the winning side from the Bochum trip, with goalscorer Badjie likely to continue on the left side of a four-man midfield.

Bayern Munich

Kompany will be missing several attacking options: Jamal Musiala, still working his way back after a health issue that arose during pre-season; Serge Gnabry, sidelined with a thigh injury; and young Maycon Cardozo, out long-term after dislocating his shoulder playing for the reserve side.

Musiala has, however, already returned to full training with the group, even if his return is probably a touch early for a starting role on Wednesday.

Kompany also confirmed at his press conference that Manuel Neuer will be rested for this match, with the captain being protected ahead of his return to Schalke in the league on Saturday, and Jonas Urbig named to replace him in goal.

Facing a promoted side, with a league fixture either side of this tie, some rotation from the side that beat Stuttgart looks like the most likely approach.

Predicted lineups: VfL Osnabrück – Bayern Munich

VfL Osnabrück probable XI (3-4-3): Krumrey; Fabinski, Müller, Wiemann; Badjie, Kammerbauer, Wagner, Jacobsen; Beck, Münst, Meißner.

Bayern Munich probable XI (4-2-3-1): Urbig; Laimer, Ito, Tah, Stanisic; Bischof, Pavlovic; Díaz, Saibari, Karl; Ibrahimovic.

Head-to-head: VfL Osnabrück and Bayern Munich

These two clubs are no strangers to one another, having met three times before, always in the DFB-Pokal, with Bayern winning two of the three meetings.

The standout result belongs to Osnabrück, who came back from 4-3 down at Munich's Olympic Stadium in September 1978, after a Gerd Müller penalty, to win 5-4 through goals from Michael Strunck in the 69th minute and Andreas Wagner two minutes later.

The two more recent meetings both went Bayern's way at the Bremer Brücke, a 2-0 win in December 2001 followed by a tighter 3-2 success in September 2004.

That history carries little predictive value for Wednesday, however, with no player from those 1978, 2001 or 2004 meetings still active today.

Our prediction for VfL Osnabrück – Bayern Munich

Before checking our four picks below, our comparison of the best sports betting sites is worth a look to verify live odds, including via the Bet365 sign-up page for the Top Tip below.