2025–26 Viborg FF season

The 2025–26 season is the 129th season in the history of Viborg FF, and their fifth consecutive year in the Danish Superliga, the top level of football in Denmark. During the season, the club competes in the Danish Superliga and the Danish Cup, the country's official knockout tournament.

Head coach Jakob Poulsen departed the club on 20 June 2025 after agreeing to become the head coach of fellow Superliga club AGF. Nickolai Lund, who joined Viborg as an assistant in May, was promoted to interim head coach on 16 July. Viborg announced on 24 July they had promoted Lund to permanent head coach, as he signed a three-year deal with the club.

Viborg announced their preseason schedule on 25 June 2025, featuring home matches against Randers and AaB, and an away fixture against newly promoted Danish Superliga side Fredericia.^[1] The team opened their preseason campaign with a friendly against Randers at Energi Viborg Arena on 28 June, led by interim coach Nickolai Lund^[2] following Jakob Poulsen's departure the previous week.^[3] The squad included most regular first-team players as well as six members of the under-19 team.^[4] Randers secured a 2–0 win with goals from Oliver Olsen and Stephen Odey, while Viborg fielded 22 players over the course of the match.^[2][5]

The following Saturday, 5 July, Viborg faced Fredericia in a match consisting of two 60-minute halves.^[6] At Monjasa Park, Fredericia's Gustav Marcussen opened the scoring in the 9th minute, but Viborg responded before the interval with goals from Anosike Ementa and Charly Nouck in the 20th and 23rd minutes, respectively. Viborg introduced a new lineup for the second half and went on to score five additional goals, earning a 7–1 victory.^[7]

Viborg's final preseason match took place on 12 July against recently relegated AaB.^[8] After an evenly contested first half, Nouck gave Viborg the lead heading into the break with a goal in the in the 41st minute.^[9] Yonis Njoh, who joined the club on a permanent transfer earlier in the summer, extended the advantage with a goal in the 65th minute. Viborg held on for a 2–0 win in their final friendly before the start of the Superliga season.^[10]

One week after the conclusion of the 2024–25 Danish Superliga season on 6 June, the league released the fixture list for the first seven matchdays. Viborg were scheduled to open the 2025–26 campaign on Friday, 18 July 2025, against defending champions Copenhagen at Energi Viborg Arena.^[11] The match marked the managerial debut of interim head coach Nickolai Lund, who had been appointed two days earlier.^[12] Lund had joined Viborg in May, six months after departing Copenhagen.^[13]

Viborg captain Jeppe Grønning scored the first goal of the Superliga season, converting a penalty in the 24th minute. Copenhagen equalised before halftime when Elias Achouri, a former Viborg player who had departed in 2023, levelled the score at 1–1 in the 37th minute. Shortly after the break, Mohamed Elyounoussi gave the visitors a narrow lead. Mads Søndergaard brought Viborg back on level terms in the 73rd minute, scoring from a corner delivered by Serginho.^[14] The draw was short-lived as Magnus Mattsson converted a penalty after Jean-Manuel Mbom was adjudged to have committed a foul inside the box. Both teams created chances in the closing minutes; however, Copenhagen held on for a 3–2 victory at Energi Viborg Arena.^[15] Nickolai Lund led Viborg as head coach in a match against OB, having been named as permanent head coach on 24 July.^[16] His first match ended in defeat at Nature Energy Park when OB took a 3–0 lead in the second half, after former Viborg defender Nicolas Bürgy scored twice against his old club.^[17] Viborg nearly scored in the 60th minute before the goal was ruled offside by VAR.^[18] The game ended 3–1 despite a late goal from Charly Nouck, who joined Viborg from OB in 2024.^[19]

The first match of August gave Viborg their first win of the season, a 2–0 result against Brøndby with goals from Yonis Njoh and Anosike Ementa in each half respectively.^[20] The club's first home game of August was played on Friday, 8 August, and gave them their second consecutive victory when Mads Søndergaard scored in the 33rd minute against Sønderjyske. Despite a late opportunity from Kristall Máni Ingason, Viborg held on to win and move themselves up to 4th place in the league.^[21] Silkeborg visited Energi Viborg Arena in the following week and got off to a fast start against Viborg, with Alexander Busch scoring in just the second minute of the match and Tonni Adamsen adding a second in the 11th minute. Viborg fought back with Mads Søndergaard scoring his third goal of the season, and Jakob Vester scoring to make it 2–2. Tim Freriks momentarily gave Viborg a 3–2 lead right before the halftime break; however, it was ruled out following a VAR review to keep the scores level. The second half again saw Freriks score following a corner kick before VAR ruled out a goal for the second time.^[22] The game ended with a 3–2 victory for Silkeborg, following a handball penalty kick, which was converted by Jens Martin Gammelby.^[23] The club traveled to Farum to face Nordsjælland, who were entering the game having lost four consecutive matches.^[24] Nordsjælland got off to an early start when Sindre Walle Egeli gave the home team an early 1–0 lead in the fourth minute, which was the score at the halftime break. Both clubs continued a back-and-forth for the rest of the game, though neither side was able to find the back of the net, with Nordsjælland managing their first victory in five matches.^[25] In a short turnaround of four days, Viborg traveled to face last-place Vejle on Friday, 29 August.^[26] Andrew Hjulsager gave Vejle an early 1–0 lead when he scored in the 15th minute, however Viborg's Mads Søndergaard would level the score again in the 40th minute for this fourth goal of the season.^[27] In the 54th minute, Charly Nouck scored his first goal of the season to give Viborg a 2–1 lead and the win.^[28] Viborg finished August with three wins and two losses as the league entered into a two week international break.^[29]

Following a two week international break, AGF traveled to Viborg for their first match of September. This was Jakob Poulsen's first match against Viborg since leaving during the previous summer.^[30] The visiting side scored an early goal from Nicolai Poulsen in the 14th minute, following a corner kick. The lead was short-lived as Thomas Jørgensen scored his first goal of the season just four minutes later. Following a handball from Jeppe Grønning minutes later, AGF were awarded a penalty kick which Kristian Arnstad converted to return the lead to the visitors.^[31] The remainder of the match continued to see other chances by both sides; however, no other goals would get past either goalkeeper and Viborg was left with a 1–2 loss, moving them down to 9th in the Superliga table.^[30] On 20 September, Viborg travelled to Herning to face their rival FC Midtjylland in hadets kamp (lit. 'the Battle of Hatred'),^[32] in a game which had fighting between fans of each club.^[33] The first half of the match went without significant action from either side, sending both teams into the break at 0–0. While Viborg goalkeeper Lucas Lund kept out the home team, Midtjylland did break through with the game's first goal in the 79th minute. Philip Billing scored a goal at close-range following an initial save from Lund. Late intro extra time, Cho Gue-sung guaranteed a victory for Midtjylland with a goal to cement a 2–0 final score.^[34] In the last weekend of October, the club met Danish Superliga newcomers FC Fredericia, who were in their first season in Denmark's top division., as both teams were seeking their first league win in September. Dutch forward Tim Freriks almost gave Viborg an early lead; however, his shot went over the crossbar to keep the game scoreless. In the 15th minute, Gustav Marcussen sent Fredericia into the lead following a corner kick. The lead lasted only seven minutes when Freriks was able to make up for his earlier miss. Yonis Njoh made his return following an injury which kept him out of action since early August, coming on as a substitute in the 74th minute. He ended up scoring the winning goal 15 minutes later, securing the victory for Viborg 2–1.^[35] The win sent Viborg to sixth place in the league standings.^[36]

Viborg began October at Cepheus Park Randers to take on Randers on 5 October, where all goals were scored within the first third of the match. Randers left-back Nikolas Dyhr scored first with a 13th minute goal from close range, and teammates Mohamed Toure scoring just two minutes later to give the home team an early 2–0 lead. Dutch forward Tim Freriks scored his second Superliga goal for Viborg in the 26th minute, bringing the score back to 2–1. No more goals were scored during the game, though both sides picked up a pair of yellow cards, and the game ended in favour of Randers.^[37] Head coach Nickolai Lund expressed frustration following the match as Viborg had several opportunities to equalise but did not do so.^[38] Following a two week international break, Viborg suffered a second consecutive defeat as they hosted OB on 19 October. Viborg took the lead early through Jakob Vester's goal in the opening minutes of the match, where the game stayed at 1–0 through the rest of the opening half. OB equalized after the break via Noah Ganaus in the 57th minute, before Jona Niemiec scored the decisive goal in a 2–1 away victory.^[39] The result marked Viborg's fourth defeat in five league matches, while OB secured three important points on the road.^[40] In the 13th round of the season, Copenhagen drew 0–0 at home against Viborg, a result that extended FCK's challenging run of form. Copenhagen controlled possession in the second half and registered several chances, but were denied by Viborg's defense and key saves by Lucas Lund. The draw left Copenhagen in third place with 22 points, while Viborg climbed to tenth place with 13 points from 13 matches.^[41]

On 2 November, Viborg recorded a victory over Randers in a match decided in stoppage time. Thomas Jørgensen scored in the opening minutes for a 1–0 Viborg lead, before Mohamed Toure brought the teams back level in the 12th minute. Within several minutes, Srđan Kuzmić restored Viborg's lead after a shot from close range went into the goal. Toure sent the teams into halftime at 2–2 when he scored his second of the game in the 41st minute. Randers would pick up four yellow cards in the second half as the two teams became physical with each other.^[42] The final goal came in stoppage time after Wessel Dammers, following a shot from Viborg's Charly Nouck, sent the ball into his own goal to give Viborg a late 3–2 win.^[43] In the following match, Viborg met Fredericia after having previously beaten them two weeks prior in the Danish Cup. While the first half remained scoreless, Viborg made the most of their chances in the second half with a goal from Charly Nouck in the 51st minute, with Fredericia defender Frederik Rieper scoring an own goal two minutes later with a header.^[44] Viborg defender Stipe Radić scored his first of the season late in the game, ensuring a Viborg victory and moving the team into mid-table in the Superliga.^[45]

As Viborg finished the previous Superliga season in 8th place, they will enter into the cup competition in the second round.^[46] The club finished the previous season's cup competition in the semi-final, being eliminated by eventual champion Copenhagen 2–0 on aggregate.^[47]

On 12 August 2025, Viborg's second round opposition was determined when AC Horsens secured a 2–1 victory over Næsby in the first round of the competition. The match was scheduled for 4 September and was be the second consecutive season in which Viborg met the 1st Division club in the second round.^[48] Despite an early chance from Viborg, the game remained without a goal in the first half. In the second half, Viborg would capitalise on a chance in the 57th minute when Dutch forward Tim Freriks scored his first goal for the club^[49] following a pass from teammate Jakob Vester. With late pressure, Horsens were unable to equalise and were eliminated from the cup as Viborg left with a 1–0 victory^[50] in front of 1,469 spectators.^[51]

Following their second round victory, Viborg was drawn against BV Oksbøl. As Superliga clubs are not allowed to be drawn against each other, Viborg was scheduled to play against a team in the Denmark Series, the fifth tier of Danish football.^[52] The two teams met on 24 September at Oksbøl Stadion in Oksbøl, with Viborg running away with a 6–0 victory. Bilal Brahimi scored his first goal for the club in the 12th minute, with Dorian Jr. following with his first Viborg goal to make it 2–0 in the 16th minute. Frederik Damkjer made it 3–0 heading into the halftime break. The second half included another flurry of goals with Asker Beck scoring in the 60th and 72nd minutes, with Yonis Njoh making his return from injury with a goal of his own.^[53] Filip Đukić, who joined Viborg in July 2025, marked his debut for the club with a clean sheet.^[54] The game marked debuts for several Viborg youth players, including Adam Kleis-Kristoffersen.^[55]

Viborg were drawn to face fellow Superliga club FC Fredericia in the fourth round at Monjasa Park.^[56] Viborg took an early lead after a foul by Jeppe Kudsk awarded them a penalty, which captain Jeppe Grønning successfully converted. Fredericia equalized shortly afterward when Sofus Johannesen scored from close range, sending the teams into halftime tied at 1–1.^[57] Substitute Oscar Buch gave Fredericia a 2–1 lead in the 82nd minute, scoring 20 minutes after entering the match. However, Viborg forward Charly Nouck Horneman leveled the score ten minutes later, making it 2–2 at the end of regular time. The match proceeded to extra time, but neither side managed to find a decisive goal, leading to a penalty shoot-out. Viborg converted four of their five attempts, defeating Fredericia 4–2 on penalties to advance to the next round.^[57][58]

For a second consecutive season, Viborg reached the quarter-finals of the Danish Cup. They were drawn against fellow Superliga club Vejle as the competition entered a two-legged format.^[59] The two teams met at Energi Viborg Arena for the first leg of the cup tie on 3 December, with Viborg starting strong with a goal from Dorian Jr. in the 12th minute. Despite multiple chances, including Sami Jalal Karchoud hitting the goal post twice, the game remained at 1–0 for halftime.^[60] Like the first half, Viborg scored in the opening minutes of the second half with a goal from Bilal Brahimi. Three minutes after coming into the game as a substitute, Asker Beck scored to give Viborg a comfortable 3–0 lead. After a late goal from Vejle's Alexi Pitu, Viborg restored the three-goal lead when Frederik Damkjer scored to help Viborg defeat Vejle 4–1.^[61]

Following their quarter-final aggregate win, Viborg were drawn against defending champions Copenhagen. The first leg will take place during week 7 in February, with the first match playing at Parken, and the return match in Viborg will take place in early March.^[62]

As of 13 December 2025^[63]

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