Two of the Bundesliga's struggling sides go head-to-head when Stuttgart host Hertha Berlin on Tuesday.
Both teams head into the encounter on 11 points apiece, with the hosts heading into the match inside the bottom three positions on goal difference.
Match preview
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Stuttgart succumbed to a third successive away defeat at the hands of Borussia Monchengladbach on Friday night, with interim manager Michael Wimmer's case for the job on a full-time basis taking a blow.
Despite making decent progress since replacing Pellegrino Matarazzo last month, the 42-year-old surely cannot afford another defeat to fellow strugglers Hertha having seen his side fall into the relegation places after Bayer Leverkusen's shock 5-0 win against Union Berlin on Sunday.
Tiago Tomas provided hope in Monchengladbach by halving the deficit after early goals from Jonas Hofmann and Marcus Thuram gave Die Fohlen a strong lead, but Patrick Herrmann's injury-time strike settled any nerves for the hosts.
Having won both home matches under Wimmer, Stuttgart will be confident that they can extend that run against Hertha on Tuesday and potentially put more distance between themselves and the automatic relegation places in the process.
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Hertha, meanwhile, were beaten 3-2 at home to Bayern Munich on Saturday, but could take some credit after almost fighting back from three goals down.
Jamal Musiala broke the deadlock for the visitors after just 12 minutes before Eric Choupo-Moting's quickfire brace looked to have settled the match seven minutes prior to the break, but Dodi Lukebakio and David Selke struck back to set up an intriguing second half.
However, despite having more shots on target than the Bavarians, Julian Nagelsmann's side strangled possession to extend their own winning run while leaving Hertha looking nervously over their shoulders in the table.
Having undoubtedly made Die Alte Dame a tougher unit to beat since taking over during the summer, Sandro Schwarz will not want to head into the World Cup break languishing in the bottom three places, making his side's trip to Stuttgart this week all the more important given that only goal difference separates them from each other either side of the dotted lines.
Team News
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Stuttgart could remain without Hiroki Ito and Dan-Axel Zagadou through illness on Tuesday, while Tanguy Coulibaly and Enzo Millot are not expected to feature this month due to injury.
Wimmer is likely to recall Silas to his starting XI having only utilised him from the bench on Friday, while Josha Vagnoman and Atakan Karazor are both pushing for starts, too.
Hertha, meanwhile, will travel to Stuttgart without the services of Rune Jarstein, Stevan Jovetic, Marton Dardai, Linus Gechter, Jessic Ngankam and Kelian Nsona.
Schwarz is unlikely to make any changes from the side which pushed Bayern all of the way on Saturday, with Selke and Lukebakio combining as a front two having both scored in the defeat.
Stuttgart possible starting lineup:
Muller; Vagnoman, Mavropanos, Anton, Sosa; Silas, Endo, Ahamada, Fuhrich; Guirassy, Tomas
Hertha Berlin possible starting lineup:
Christensen; Kenny, Rogel, Kempf, Plattenhardt; Richter, Tousart, Serdar, Boetius; Selke, Lukebakio
We say: Stuttgart 1-1 Hertha Berlin
With both teams fearful of falling to another defeat, we can envisage a share of the spoils in Stuttgart on Tuesday.
The visitors have arguably looked the more settled unit for more of this season so far, but they have struggled to convert performances into results and may have to settle for a point.
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Top tip
Brett Curtis
