Last season's Bundesliga runners-up Stuttgart are set to host 2. Bundesliga side Kaiserslautern on Tuesday at MHPArena in the second round of the DFB-Pokal.
The hosts are eighth in the top flight with 12 points from eight games and beat Preussen Munster 5-0 in late August to reach the second round, while the visitors are 10th in the second tier with 15 points after 10 matchweeks.
Match preview
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Stuttgart have a strong record in the DFB-Pokal in recent times, winning eight of their last 10 games in the competition.
In their last fixture, the home side beat Holstein Kiel 2-1 in the Bundesliga and were deserving of their three points, creating three big chances and producing more than triple Holstein Kiel's 0.51 xG.
Die Roten beat Juventus 1-0 in the prior fixture, with El Bilal Toure scoring a 92nd-minute winner.
Boss Sebastian Hoeness's side have been inconsistent so far this campaign, winning five, drawing four and losing four of their 13 games this term.
This includes drawing three and losing one of their six most recent matches, though they have won the last two.
Despite their inconsistencies, Hoeness's team still been formidable at home considering they are unbeaten in their last 19 games at MHPArena, winning 13 times in that period.
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As for the visitors, they beat third-division team Ingolstadt 2-1 in August in the first round of the DFB-Pokal despite having a player sent off in the 49th minute, though they were already leading 2-0 by the time Jan Gyamerah was dismissed.
Kaiserslautern were relegated from the Bundesliga at the end of the 2010-11 season and were demoted to the third tier at the end of 2017-18 before earning promotion back to the 2. Bundesliga at the end of 2021-22.
Manager Markus Anfang's side have won their last two games, but they did lose three and draw two of the prior five matches.
Kaiserslautern will hope to repeat their showing in the DFB-Pokal in 2023-24 given they reached the final and only lost 1-0 against Bayer Leverkusen in May.
Anfang's team have lost two, drawn one and won one of their last four games on the road, conceding seven times while scoring on six occasions.
Team News
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Stuttgart will be unable to call upon centre-back Dan-Axel Zagadou until February 2025, while midfielder Luca Raimund is not scheduled to return until early November.
Winger Justin Diehl and right-back Leonidas Stergiou are doubts, so expect Josha Vagnoman to start in place of Diehl and Ermedin Demirovic to feature in attack alongside Deniz Undav.
Hoeness could field Fabian Rieder, Yannik Keitel, Atakan Karazor and Jamie Leweling in a midfield four.
As for Kaiserslautern, left-back Hendrick Zuck, centre-back Almamy Toure and right-back Jan Gyamerah are not expected to return to action until next month.
The visitors may field a back three consisting of Jan Elvedi, Luca Sirch and Jannis Heuer in front of goalkeeper Julian Krahl.
Elsewhere, attacker Aaron Opoku and midfielder Philipp Klement are doubts, so perhaps Afeez Aremu and Boris Tomiak could start in a double pivot, while Ragnar Ache and Daniel Hanslik may be chosen to play in a front two.
Stuttgart possible starting lineup:
Bredlow; Vagnoman, Chase, Rouault, Mittelstadt; Rieder, Keitel, Karazor, Leweling; Undav, Demirovic
Kaiserslautern possible starting lineup:
Krahl; Elvedi, Sirch, Heuer; Zimmer, Aremu, Tomiak, Kleinhansl; Ritter; Ache, Hanslik
We say: Stuttgart 2-0 Kaiserslautern
It is hard to see how Kaiserslautern can avoid defeat on Tuesday given the calibre of their opponents.
Additionally, Stuttgart's record at home is strong, and while last season's finalists may make the clash difficult, it would not be surprising if the hosts advanced into the next round.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
