The 1. FC Kaiserslautern begins the 2026-2027 season with perhaps the toughest road test of the campaign when the Red Devils travel to Wolfsburg to take on the Wolves at the Volkswagen Arena on Saturday.

VfL Wolfsburg is back in the 2. Bundesliga for the first time since the 1996-1997 season, when the Wolves earned their first-ever promotion to the Bundesliga.

The club finished in 16th place in the Bundesliga last campaign and lost the relegation playoff against SC Paderborn to drop down a division.

The home team is the heavy favorite to return to Germany’s top division, having invested 23 million euros into the squad — more the rest of the league’s 17 teams combined.

FCK, meanwhile, has spent the past two seasons knocking on the door, only to fall a bit short. Last campaign, the Red Devils placed sixth with a total of 52 points. They took seventh in the 2023-2024 season with 53 points.

Heading into Saturday’s showdown, Torsten Lieberknecht’s men got a huge boost in the form of its captain, Marlon Ritter. The longest-serving player on the roster, Ritter returned to practice Tuesday after missing some time in the preseason due to hip problems.

Striker Ivan Prtajin continues to recover from a ruptured Achilles tendon suffered in January. Owen Gibbs and David Schramm also will miss the match thanks to a pelvic injury and the flu, respectively.

Also out for the Red Devils is right back Paul Joly. The Frenchman is suspended.

Wolfsburg, meanwhile, enters the match with question marks in net. No. 1 goalkeeper Timon Wellenreuther has been ruled out with a knee injury, paving the way for 18-year-old Jakub Zielinski to step between the sticks.

Saturday’s match kicks off at 8:30 p.m. CET.