Borussia Dortmund will travel to the MHPArena on Wednesday to meet Stuttgart with a DFB-Pokal quarter-final place on the line.
The sides have each seen off top-flight opposition already in this year's competition, with the hosts having got past Union Berlin in the previous round while their visitors beat Hoffenheim.
Match preview
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Stuttgart will return to cup action on Wednesday on the back of a strong start to the season on all fronts, having progressed through two rounds of the DFB-Pokal thus far after reaching the semi-finals of last season's competition.
Their bid to improve on that run this term began in the first round with a trip to Balingen in August, and Sebastian Hoeness's side made no mistake, progressing with a 4-0 victory as Enzo Millot, Silas, Serhou Guirassy and Wataru Endo all found the net.
That set up a tougher tie with Union Berlin in the second round at the end of October, and Die Roten would prevail on home turf, as Deniz Undav netted the only goal on the stroke of half time to punch his side's ticket into the round of 16.
They now turn their focus back to the cup competition on the back of a positive run in the Bundesliga, having moved onto 30 points from 13 games and climbed up to third spot in Germany's top flight with three straight wins, firstly beating Wednesday's round-of-16 opponents 2-1 before the November international break as Undav and Guirassy netted goals to send Borussia Dortmund home empty-handed.
Having now returned to action with 2-1 and 2-0 triumphs over Eintracht Frankfurt and Werder Bremen respectively, with Undav and Guirassy again on the scoresheet against the latter at the weekend, Stuttgart will hope to keep building momentum and book their place in the DFB-Pokal quarter-finals with a second home win over Wednesday's visitors in as many months.
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Borussia Dortmund, meanwhile, travel aiming to avenge that league defeat prior to the break and continue their own cup run, having only managed round-of-16 and quarter-final appearances in the previous two campaigns after lifting the trophy for the fifth time in their history in the 2020-21 season.
Die Borussen began in the first round of this year's iteration with a trip to fourth-tier Schott Mainz at the beginning of the season, and they progressed in comfortable fashion, dishing out a 6-1 beating as Sebastien Haller netted a brace alongside goals from Julian Brandt, Marcel Sabitzer, Donyell Malen and Youssoufa Moukoko.
Fellow top-flight outfit Hoffenheim then stood between Edin Terzic's side and the round of 16, and Der BVB overcame a tough test to progress, prevailing in a 1-0 victory as Marco Reus hit the only goal late in the first half.
Terzic's men now return to DFB-Pokal action on the back of a pleasing run of their own since their defeat to Wednesday's hosts before the international break, having firstly returned to action with a 4-2 league win over Borussia Monchengladbach, before winning 3-1 away at AC Milan last Tuesday thanks to goals from Reus, Jamie Bynoe-Gittens and Karim Adeyemi to guarantee a top-two finish in their Champions League group.
Having most recently played out a 1-1 draw away at unbeaten Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen at the weekend, going ahead through Julian Ryerson before being pegged back by Victor Boniface in the 79th minute, Borussia Dortmund will now look to return the favour from last month against Stuttgart and come out on top at the MHPArena to advance to the DFB-Pokal final eight.
Team News
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With defender Hiroki Ito remaining sidelined through injury, Stuttgart should come into Wednesday's cup tie with an unchanged starting XI from the weekend's victory over Werder Bremen, with Maximilian Mittelstadt again set to start on the left-hand side of a back four alongside Dan-Axel Zagadou, Waldemar Anton and Pascal Stenzel.
They certainly have a dangerous strike force for Der BVB to contend with, as Serhou Guirassy will lead the line having netted 17 goals in 12 appearances in all competitions so far this term, including a league-high tally of 16 in 11 Bundesliga games.
He will be joined by Brighton & Hove Albion loanee Deniz Undav, who boasts nine goals of his own for Die Roten in just 11 appearances this campaign, while Silas and Chris Fuhrich will offer further attacking support in a 4-2-2-2 setup.
Borussia Dortmund will also line up similarly to how they did against Bayer Leverkusen at the weekend, with Julien Duranville and Felix Nmecha set to remain confined to the treatment room.
Haller will hope to return and lead the line from the start in their 4-2-3-1 shape, after Niclas Fullkrug started up front at the weekend, while Karim Adeyemi, Donyell Malen and Gio Reyna will all fight to come into a supporting trio should Marco Reus and Julian Brandt be afforded rests.
Elsewhere, Emre Can and Marcel Sabitzer should again partner up in the engine room, while Nico Schlotterbeck will join Mats Hummels in the middle of a back four if deemed fit after being withdrawn in the second half of their draw with Bayer Leverkusen.
Stuttgart possible starting lineup:
Nubel; Stenzel, Zagadou, Anton, Mittelstadt; Karazor, Millot; Silas, Fuhrich; Guirassy, Undav
Borussia Dortmund possible starting lineup:
Kobel; Wolf, Hummels, Schlotterbeck, Ryerson; Can, Sabitzer; Adeyemi, Reyna, Malen; Haller
We say: Stuttgart 2-1 Borussia Dortmund
Both sides are enjoying positive runs and will certainly have their sights set on the quarter-finals, and we anticipate an entertaining encounter at the MHPArena on Wednesday.
Having got the better of their visitors in the last Bundesliga meeting between the two teams, we fancy Stuttgart to again come out on top in this DFB-Pokal cup tie given the momentum on their side, particularly in attack.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Sam Varley
