Stuttgart will hope to earn their second win of the Bundesliga season against Nuri Sahin's Borussia Dortmund on Sunday at MHPArena.
The hosts finished second in the league last term but have only collected four points from a possible nine this campaign and are currently 11th, while the visitors are second with seven points and won 4-2 against Heidenheim on September 13 last time out in the top flight.
Match preview
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Stuttgart have endured a difficult start to their 2024-25 season, losing the German Super Cup final on penalties against Bayer Leverkusen on August 17, before losing their first league game 3-1 against Freiburg on August 24.
The hosts drew 3-3 in their second league game against Mainz 05, but they managed their first Bundesliga win when they beat Borussia Monchengladbach 3-1 on September 14.
The match itself was a fairly open contest, with Borussia Monchengladbach producing four big chances and Stuttgart creating six of their own.
Die Roten followed up their win in the league with a 3-1 loss against Real Madrid on Tuesday in their first Champions League game of the season, though given Real have been tipped to win the competition, it would be harsh to read too much into the result.
Manager Sebastian Hoeness commented after his side's defeat on Tuesday that Stuttgart "produced a really good performance" and that they played with "courage" at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu.
Stuttgart have only won once in their three most recent Bundesliga matches, but are unbeaten in their last 13 league fixtures at MHPArena, and have won 14, drawn seven and lost just one of their 22 most recent top-flight matches at home.
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Opponents Borussia Dortmund have started life under Sahin positively, with BVB having won four of their five games during his tenure so far.
These victories include a 3-0 win against Club Brugge on September 18 in their first Champions League match of 2024-25, though the Belgian side proved difficult to break down considering BVB only opened the scoring in the 76th minute.
English sensation Jamie Bynoe-Gittens netted twice in his side's win against Club Brugge despite only being substituted on in the 68th minute.
The 20-year-old forward has already scored four times in just 180 minutes of competitive football this season and is showing great signs of development in the early days of his senior career.
Sahin has implemented a more front-footed style of football than his predecessor Edin Terzic, and his side have already kept two clean sheets in the league this term, as many as they had in the previous eight Bundesliga games.
However, Dortmund have lost twice and drawn once in their last three away league matches, though they did win the prior four top-flight games on the road.
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Team News
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The hosts only have one longer-term injury concern, with Justin Diehl ruled out until early November due to a dislocated shoulder.
However, Stuttgart still have some doubts about the availability of defenders Ameen Al Dakhil, Leonidas Stergiou and Nikolas Nartey, though all three are expected to return in the next few days.
Considering their defensive absentees, Hoeness could name the same back four that started against Real Madrid, so expect Josha Vagnoman, Anthony Rouault, Julian Chabot and Maximilian Mittelstadt to protect goalkeeper Alexander Nubel.
Meanwhile, Giovanni Reyna is the only player to be ruled out of Sunday's match for Dortmund, who have an otherwise healthy squad.
Sahin could make changes in the forward line given poor offensive displays from the likes of Donyell Malen last time out against Club Brugge.
Serhou Guirassy could come in for Malen up front and could be flanked by Bynoe-Gittens and Karim Adeyemi.
Felix Nmecha may be considered for the starting XI, though Julian Brandt is more likely to start as BVB's attacking midfielder.
Stuttgart possible starting lineup:
Nubel; Vagnoman, Rouault, Chabot, Mittelstadt; Leweling, Karazor, Stiller, Rieder; Undav, Demirovic
Borussia Dortmund possible starting lineup:
Kobel; Ryerson, Anton, Schlotterbeck, Bensebaini; Nmecha, Gross; Adeyemi, Brandt, Bynoe-Gittens; Guirassy
We say: Stuttgart 1-2 Borussia Dortmund
Though Stuttgart's loss against Real Madrid was not an unexpected result, it was the third time this season that they have conceded three or more goals in a match.
Additionally, Dortmund have been playing well in the early stages of their campaign under Sahin, and they should be full of confidence after their win against Club Brugge in the Champions League.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Lewis Nolan
