Two teams go in search of their first Bundesliga win of the season when Stuttgart host Mainz 05 on Saturday afternoon.
History is on the side of the hosts, who won 3-1 in their two league meetings last season, but the visitors are on an impressive unbeaten run in the league that stretches back to March.
Match preview
![Sebastian Hoeness, head coach of Stuttgart, in an interview regarding his side's first Bundesliga match of 2024-2025 against Freiburg on August 24, 2024 [on August 25, 2024]](https://sm.imgix.net/24/34/sebastian-hoeness_1.jpg?w=640&h=480&auto=compress,format&fit=clip "Sebastian Hoeness, head coach of Stuttgart, in an interview regarding his side's first Bundesliga match of 2024-2025 against Freiburg on August 24, 2024 [on August 25, 2024]")
© Imago
Stuttgart come into Saturday's game with a mixed bag in terms of results and performances so far, and with the likes of Borussia Monchengladbach, Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich on the horizon, a win here could be the perfect way to kick-start their season.
Following on from their defeat on penalties to Bayer Leverkusen in the DFL-Supercup, Sebastian Hoeness's side then lost their opening Bundesliga game 3-1 away to SC Freiburg before Tuesday's 5-0 victory over Preussen Munster in the DFB-Pokal first round.
Goals from Angelo Stiller, Ermedin Demirovic, Pascal Stenzel, Nick Woltemade and Atakan Karazor sealed what was a routine win over the 2. Bundesliga outfit.
It has been a busy summer off the pitch for Stuttgart, who have sold the likes of clinical forward Serhou Guirassy and centre-back duo Hiroki Ito and Waldemar Anton to fellow Bundesliga clubs, with the likes of Denis Undav and Demirovic representing their most noteworthy incomings.
With such an array of talent coming and going over the summer it could be a slow start to the season for Die Roten, who were Leverkusen's closest challengers in last season's Bundesliga, finishing on 72 points in second and winning 23 of their 34 league games.
That gave them their highest league finish for 21 years, with even Bayern Munich ending the campaign looking up at the Stuttgart outfit.
© Reuters
Mainz meanwhile travel to the MHP Arena following a 3-1 win over local rivals Wehen Wiesbaden in the DFB-Pokal, and most recently last Saturday's 1-1 draw at home to Union Berlin in their first game of the league campaign.
Nadiem Amiri gave the home side the lead early in the second half, before a late Laszlo Benes equaliser shared the spoils between the two sides on the opening day.
That result extended Mainz's impressive unbeaten Bundesliga run to 10 games, a streak that stretches back to March, and manager Bo Henriksen has certainly made his Mainz side a difficult team to play against since he joined them back in February.
Henriksen likes to deploy a high-pressing style of play and instructs his players to win aerial duels in both boxes, and Mainz's aggressive style is certainly paying dividends when you look at their performances and some of the notable victories along the way, with their 3-0 triumph over Borussia Dortmund in May arguably being the pick of the bunch.
Their results are all the more impressive when you consider the number of player outgoings that Mainz have had to contend with over the summer, particularly losing their star winger Brajan Gruda, who recently completed a transfer to Brighton & Hove Albion.
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Team News
![VfB Stuttgart training in Germany, Stuttgart, on August 20, 2024 [on August 22, 2024]](https://sm.imgix.net/24/34/vfb-stuttgart-training.jpg?w=640&h=480&auto=compress,format&fit=clip "VfB Stuttgart training in Germany, Stuttgart, on August 20, 2024 [on August 22, 2024]")
© Imago
Stuttgart have a number of defensive injury concerns heading into Saturday's game, with Ameen Al-Dakhil (muscle), Dan-Axel Zagadou (fitness), Anthony Rouault (shoulder), Leonidas Stergiou (back) and Josha Vagnoman (fitness) all expected to miss out here.
Elsewhere, midfielder Nikolas Nartey is also a doubt with a fitness problem, and options for Hoeness are certainly limited heading into this game as a result.
For the visitors there is a strong doubt over the availability of Maxim Leitsch, who was replaced by Stefan Bell in their opening-day draw with Union Berlin through injury.
Henriksen has an otherwise fully-fit squad to choose from here, with the likes of Paul Nebel and Armindo Sieb pushing for starts having come off the bench in the 1-1 draw last weekend.
Stuttgart possible starting lineup:
Nubel; Stenzel, Chase, Chabot, Mittelstadt; Millot, Stiller; Leweling, Undav, Fuhrich; Demirovic
Mainz 05 possible starting lineup:
Zentner; Kohr, Bell, Hanche-Olsen; Caci, Sano, Amiri, Mwene; Onisiwo, Lee, Burkardt
We say: Stuttgart 1-1 Mainz 05
The home side have a number of defensive injury concerns heading into this game, and their vulnerability could be exposed by a confident and physical Mainz.
The away side are also now on a 10-game unbeaten run in the Bundesliga, but with recent history versus their opponents against them we would be surprised if they left Stuttgart with all three points in the bag.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
