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A closer look at Wolfsburg: What the runners-up have to offer against FCB
A closer look at Wolfsburg: What the runners-up have to offer against FCB
The first real test of the new season is almost upon us: FC Bayern Women take on last season's runners-up, VfL Wolfsburg, in the Google Pixel Supercup on Saturday 15 August at 19.30 CEST. It'll be the third year in a row that the two strongest teams in Germany face off in the competition.
At the start of the 2026/27 season, head coach José Barcala ’s side again face opponents who have made some changes over the summer without losing their core identity. The Wolves’ squad has been restructured in key areas, roles have been reassigned and the team’s dynamics have been fine-tuned. fcbayern.com shows you what the Munich women can expect on Saturday at Ingolstadt’s Audi Sportpark and provides a detailed profile of their opponents from Lower Saxony.
The Wolves' pre-season
Head coach Stephan Lerch’s side played four friendlies during pre-season. They kicked things off with a 3–2 win against second-tier side SV Meppen, a match in which Wolfsburg took control early on but were involved in an open, end-to-end battle after the break. This was followed by a strong performance against PSV, which ended in a 2–0 victory and already hinted at just how versatile the Wolves can be in attack.
In their subsequent matches against direct league rivals RB Leipzig (3–1) and Werder Bremen (3–1), Wolfsburg underlined their strong pre-season form. Against Leipzig, following an intense week at their training camp, VfL put in a controlled performance with excellent set-piece delivery, whilst against Werder, the team led by captain Svenja Huth patiently retained possession for long periods and sealed the win late on.
High-profile departures
The Lower Saxony side once again made significant changes to their squad in the summer. A total of 11 players brought their time in the Autostadt to an end, most notably captain Alexandra Popp, who bid farewell after 14 years in Wolfsburg colours and moved to Borussia Dortmund in the Regionalliga .
In addition, Lerch’s side lost Vivien Endemann, a promising winger, to Liverpool. Caitlin Dijkstra, Lineth Beerensteyn, Janou Levels and Justine Kielland were among the other players to leave Wolfsburg; they had all featured regularly last season and provided the squad with vital depth and reliability.
Hoffmann, Piljić and Co: New faces at VfL
But it isn’t just the departures that have caused a stir in Wolfsburg. There has also been plenty of activity on the signings front: the most high-profile name among the Wolves’ new arrivals is undoubtedly Giovanna Hoffmann. The striker’s move from RB Leipzig to Lower Saxony was announced back in March. The Germany international has scored 20 goals in 106 appearances in the Google Pixel Women’s Bundesliga and was a key figure in the Saxons’ front line for years. In October 2025, however, tragedy struck: Hoffmann suffered a cruciate ligament tear during a league match and has been working towards her comeback ever since.
It's a similar situation for new signing Katharina Piljić, who was brought in to bolster the Wolfsburg midfield. The 22-year-old suffered a syndesmotic ligament injury in her final match of the season for her former club, Bayer Leverkusen, and is also sidelined for the foreseeable future. Two new signings who, for the time being, are only available on paper.
Weronika Araśniewicz is another exciting young prospect to have moved to the Autostadt : the 18-year-old Pole has come in on loan from Barcelona with the aim of injecting some energy into the attacking midfield, acting as a link between the build-up play and the attack.
Forward Cecilie Fløe Nielsen also deserves a special mention. The 24-year-old Dane played for Napoli Women in Serie A last season, scored 11 goals and finished third in the league’s top scorer standings.
Yet another final against Wolfsburg
FCB Women have fond memories of their last clash with VfL Wolfsburg: in the DFB Cup final, the Munich side beat their long-standing rivals 4–0 thanks to goals from Georgia Stanway, Pernille Harder , Momoko Tanikawa and Arianna Caruso . It meant they secured their second consecutive double and made the 2025/26 season the most successful in the club’s history, both in sporting terms and symbolically.
In the Google Pixel Women’s Bundesliga, too, last season's fixtures against VfL were pretty much perfect: José Barcala’s side emerged victorious in both the first ( 3–1 ) and second encoiunters ( 4–1 ). As a result, by the end of the season, their lead over the runners-up from Lower Saxony had grown to an impressive 16 points.
For the third year running, the Munich women are now through to the Supercup final – and once again their opponents are VfL Wolfsburg. The head-to-head stats in this competition clearly favour the side from the Bavarian capital: in 2024 , they won the first encounter thanks to Klara Bühl ’s golden goal in the ninth minute. And a year later, too, it was the Reds who were able to lift the trophy following a 4–2 win at Karlsruhe’s Wildpark. On that occasion, Jovana Damnjanović paved the way to victory with an early brace (18' and 25'). This weekend, they're now aiming for a third consecutive victory and, with it, a perfect start to the new season.
The match report for the friendly against Paris FC:
FCB Women celebrate victory over Paris FC in final friendly
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