In the first Bundesliga game of matchweek 13, Stuttgart will hope to claim all three points against visitors Union Berlin on Friday at MHPArena and push towards the European qualification spots.
The home team are ninth with 17 points and drew 2-2 with Werder Bremen on November 30, while their opponents are 11th with 16 points and were beaten 2-1 by champions Bayer Leverkusen on the same date.
Match preview
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Die Roten trailed 1-0 after just six minutes and required an 85th-minute equaliser from Ermedin Demirovic to take a point against Werder Bremen.
Their stalemate was the fourth time in the last six matches that they have conceded at least two goals, and boss Sebastian Hoeness will be concerned that his side have conceded 21 times in 12 league outings, just 18 fewer than they did in 34 Bundesliga games last term.
In the aftermath of the draw, Hoeness was upbeat, saying: "The fact is we fell behind twice away from home and were able to fight back each time – and that at the end of a tough week. I'm pleased with my team's commitment."
The Reds beat Jahn Regensburg 3-0 on Tuesday and progressed to the quarter-finals of the DFB-Pokal, though that was just their second victory in their past seven fixtures, losing three and drawing two in that period.
Stuttgart's tally of 23 goals scored in the top flight makes them the division's joint fifth-best offensive club, with the team netting on six occasions in their three most recent Bundesliga games.
The hosts have lost two of their last three home matches, but they still boast a phenomenal record at MHPArena given they have won 15, drawn six and lost just two of their past 23 outings.
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Opponents Union Berlin will be disappointed by their defeat against Leverkusen, as while losing to the champions is by no means an unexpected result, Schlosserjungs produced eight shots from inside the box and created two big chances, the same as Xabi Alonso's side.
Manager Bo Svensson believed that his team could have taken something from their clash, saying: "Leverkusen are simply a top team, so it's obviously difficult to create chances. In the end, the way we played was good, but we still lost."
Svensson's side have scored 10 times and conceded on 11 occasions, and these are the top flight's joint worst offensive and second-best defensive records.
Union Berlin are in poor form, with the team winless in their six most recent games, succumbing to defeat four times.
The visitors have achieved victory just twice in their eight away fixtures this season, losing their last three and failing to score in that time.
Team News
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The hosts will be without several players, including defenders Ameen Al Dakhil and Dan-Axel Zagadou, though the former should recover from an illness is the next few days.
Stuttgart could field a backline consisting of Leonidas Stergiou, Anthony Rouault, Julian Chabot and Maximilian Mittelstadt.
Forwards Deniz Undav, El Bilal Toure, Jamie Leweling and Luca Raimund will also miss out, so perhaps Hoeness will select an attack featuring Josha Vagnoman, Enzo Millot, Chris Fuhrich and Ermedin Demirovic.
Meanwhile, Union Berlin will not be able to call upon striker Andrej Ilic until the middle of this month, and Woo-Yeong Jeong, Benedict Hollerbach and Yorbe Vertessen could be selected to lead the forward line in his absence.
Centre-back Diogo Leite and goalkeeper Yannic Stein are out due to injuries and are not likely to feature again until late December and the middle of January 2025 respectively.
Danilho Doekhi, Kevin Vogt and Leopold Querfeld are probable candidates to appear in a back three, and they are almost certain to be stationed in front of goalkeeper Frederik Ronnow.
Stuttgart possible starting lineup:
Nubel; Stergiou, Rouault, Chabot, Mittelstadt; Karazor, Stiller; Vagnoman, Millot, Fuhrich; Demirovic
Union Berlin possible starting lineup:
Ronnow; Doekhi, Vogt, Querfeld; Trimmel, Kemlein, Khedira, Rothe; Jeong, Hollerbach, Vertessen
We say: Stuttgart 1-1 Union Berlin
Union Berlin are not likely to score more than once on Friday considering their poor offensive record, so Stuttgart should be confident of at least preventing the visitors from creating many chances.
However, the hosts have been poor defensively in recent weeks, and it would be surprising if they managed to keep a clean sheet.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Lewis Nolan
