Top-four contenders Eintracht Frankfurt attempt to embark on another winning run against Stuttgart on Saturday, after seeing their hot streak finally ended last week.
After a run of five straight successes, Adi Hutter's men were left empty-handed last time out, while the visitors were the latest to take advantage of crisis club Schalke's woes.
Match preview
© Reuters
Having won five league games in a row and nine of their last 10 to open up a five-point gap in the absorbing battle for a Champions League place, Frankfurt suffered a rare setback at Bremen last weekend.
With their previous 2-1 win over Bayern Munich lifting them clear of closest contenders Borussia Dortmund in fourth place - plus potentially re-igniting the Bundesliga title race - Adi Hutter's entertaining side were confident of a sixth successive win, but ultimately went down 2-1 to Florian Kohfeldt's struggling side.
Experiencing their last league loss back in early December, the high-flyers were surprised by plucky Bremen - who had won only three of their previous 25 home league games - as the hosts fought back with a strong second-half performance after Frankfurt took an early lead through top scorer Andre Silva's 19th goal of the season.
Transfer links with several top Premier League sides have continued to circulate since the Portuguese striker's remarkable rebirth this term and he has done little to play such talk down in the past week, suggesting that these could be his final months with the club which helped him relaunch his stalling career.
While an 11-match undefeated run may have come to an end by the banks of the Weser, this week, Frankfurt meet opponents who they have tended to hold an edge over in recent times. Unbeaten in their last three Bundesliga matches against Stuttgart, Die Adler have not lost to their Swabian counterparts since February 2018 - leading 8-2 on aggregate during that dominant spell.
© Reuters
Stuttgart's last outing saw them stride to a 5-1 triumph over hapless Schalke at Mercedes-Benz Arena to extend their unbeaten streak to three and secure their place in the top half of the table.
After making a superb start to their first season back in the top flight, the club overseen by sporting director Thomas Hitzlsperger saw their form stutter a little in recent weeks, but their previous win, in Cologne, seemingly set the ball rolling again and continued their exemplary away form this term.
Head coach Pellegrino Matarazzo's side have been far stronger on the road all season, taking 20 of the 32 points they have accumulated away from home - the joint-second best record in the Bundesliga. Saturday's encounter will put such form to the test though, as Frankfurt are unbeaten at Deutsche Bank Park this season, with six wins and five draws from their 11 games on home soil. In fact, their hosts will be out to prolong a 13-match home unbeaten streak in all - dating back to last June.
When the two sides last met in Bundesliga action, they played out a 2-2 draw in November, with Nicolas Gonzalez and skipper Gonzalo Castro on the scoresheet for VfB, and the evidence suggests another closely fought contest on this occasion.
Eintracht Frankfurt Bundesliga form: WWWWWL
Stuttgart Bundesliga form: LWLDWW
Stuttgart form (all competitions): WLLDWW
Team News
© Reuters
Frankfurt's highly-regarded coach Adi Hutter has a clean bill of health within his squad ahead of Stuttgart's visit, after star striker Andre Silva returned with a goal, following his spell on the sidelines with a back problem.
The hosts will have French centre-back Evan N'Dicka back in action after missing out last week, having previously picked up his fifth caution of the season. Therefore, captain Makoto Hasebe can revert to midfield on Saturday, after deputising in the back three, with Sebastian Rode most likely to drop out of the XI.
Stuttgart could be without Nicolas Gonzalez until later this month, as the Argentinian forward continues his recovery from a hamstring injury. Both Clinton Mola and Lilian Egloff remain on the treatment table too, while midfielder Erik Thommy has a hip problem and is set to be unavailable for the visitors.
After coming off the bench to strike a stoppage time goal against Schalke, Daniel Didavi is expected to replace Philipp Forster in the lineup, supporting lone front man Sasa Kalajdzic - the team's joint-top scorer, with 11 league goals to date.
Eintracht Frankfurt possible starting lineup:
Trapp; Tuta, Hinteregger, N'Dicka; Durm, Sow, Hasebe, Kostic; Kamada, Younes; Silva
Stuttgart possible starting lineup:
Kobel; Mavropanos, Anton, Kempf; Silas, Mangala, Endo, Sosa; Didavi, Castro; Kalajdzic
We say: Eintracht Frankfurt 2-2 Stuttgart
Fans could be set for another entertaining encounter between these two sides, who have surpassed expectations this season and continue to impress.
Though Frankfurt's formidable home record should remain intact, the visitors travel well - averaging over two goals per game on the road - and are fearless competitors, so a second high-scoring draw could well ensue.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Eintracht Frankfurt win with a probability of 43%. A win for Stuttgart had a probability of 34.78% and a draw had a probability of 22.2%.
The most likely scoreline for a Eintracht Frankfurt win was 2-1 with a probability of 8.55%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (5.65%) and 3-1 (5.25%). The likeliest Stuttgart win was 1-2 (7.62%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (9.27%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with a 9.3% likelihood.
