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Stuttgart
Bundesliga | Gameweek 7
Oct 7, 2023 at 2.30pm UK
Mercedes-Benz-Arena
Wolfsburg

Stuttgart
3 - 1
Wolfsburg

Guirassy (67' pen., 78', 82')
Undav (90+4')
FT(HT: 0-1)
Gerhardt (34')
Svanberg (5'), Wind (42'), Vranckx (73')

Preview: Stuttgart vs. Wolfsburg - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Saturday's Bundesliga clash between Stuttgart and Wolfsburg, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Stuttgart will be aiming to make it six wins from seven league games when they host Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga on Saturday.

The visitors, meanwhile, trail their opponents by three points having won four and lost two league matches so far this season.


Match preview

VfB Stuttgart's Serhou Guirassy celebrates scoring their first goal on August 25, 2023© Reuters

Having narrowly survived relegation in each of the last two campaigns - including when beating Hamburger SV in a two-legged relegation playoff in June - very few people would have foreseen Stuttgart sitting as high as second in the table after six games.

Sebastian Hoeness made an instant impact when taking over in early April, taking 15 points from seven games to help Die Roten clamber out of the automatic relegation spots, and he has matched that record in one fewer game across the opening weeks of the new campaign.

Serhou Guirassy has started the season on fire with 10 league goals to his name already, but it was a different striker who stole the headlines in their last match, with former Brighton & Hove Albion forward Deniz Undav coming off the bench to score twice and help his team beat FC Koln 2-0 away from home last weekend.

As such, with league leaders Bayer Leverkusen not playing until their home game against Koln on Sunday, Hoeness's side will have the opportunity to move to the summit by winning a fifth straight match on Saturday.

Wolfsburg's Jonas Wind celebrates after the match on September 16, 2023© Reuters

Wolfsburg will undoubtedly provide a stiff test for their opponents at the Mercedes-Benz Arena, though, having returned to winning ways with a 2-0 victory against Eintracht Frankfurt last time out.

Jonas Wind's brace either side of Mario Gotze's dismissal proved to be the difference between the two sides, with the Denmark striker extending his goalscoring tally to seven for the season already. Only Guirassy and Harry Kane have scored more than him at this early stage of the campaign.

However, Niko Kovac will be keen for his players to avoid creating an unwanted pattern for themselves, having followed up each of their last two victories with defeats on the road to Hoffenheim and Borussia Dortmund.

First and foremost, the Wolves are likely to attempt to keep things tight given the impressive form of their opponents, before looking to bite them on the break whenever moments in transition present themselves.

Stuttgart Bundesliga form:

Wolfsburg Bundesliga form:


Team News

VfB Stuttgart coach Sebastian Hoeness on August 25, 2023© Reuters

Stuttgart will desperately hope to have Silas Mvumpa, Dan-Axel Zagadou and Guirassy available to call upon despite their recent injury issues, while Angelo Stiller, Atakan Karazor and Josha Vagnoman should be available for selection despite struggling with bouts of illness recently.

However, Thomas Kastanaras, Woo-yeong Jeong and Nikolas Nartey have all been ruled out, while Jamie Leweling is unlikely to feature after picking up a knock in Cologne.

Wolfsburg, meanwhile, will travel without Rogerio, Mortiz Jenz, Lukas Nmecha, Kilian Fischer and Felix Lange due to injury, restricting Kovac's options should he wish to rotate at all.

In truth, though, the former Frankfurt boss is unlikely to make any alterations to a winning XI after overcoming his former side last time out, meaning that Wind will continue to lead the line in Nmecha's absence.


Stuttgart possible starting lineup:
Nubel; Stenzel, Rouault, Anton, Ito; Karazor, Stiller; Silas, Millot, Fuhrich; Guirassy

Wolfsburg possible starting lineup:
Casteels; Baku, Lacroix, Zesiger, Maehle; Svanberg, Arnold; Tomas, Majer, Gerhardt; Wind


SM words green background

We say: Stuttgart 2-1 Wolfsburg

Providing that Stuttgart have their key offensive players available - particularly Guirassy, who has been irresistible so far this season - then we can envisage them moving to the top of the Bundesliga table by recording another win on Saturday.

Wolfsburg represent a solid outfit under Kovac, but they remain inconsistent in terms of results, and the former Bayern Munich boss must work out a way to help his side perform better on the road.



For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.


Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Under 3.5:data


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Game History

How you voted: Stuttgart vs Wolfsburg

Stuttgart
88.1%
Draw
7.1%
Wolfsburg
4.8%
42
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Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Bayern MunichBayern97203272523
2RB Leipzig96211551020
3Eintracht FrankfurtFrankfurt95222314917
4Bayer LeverkusenB. Leverkusen94412015516
5Borussia DortmundDortmund95131715216
6Freiburg95131311216
7Union BerlinUnion Berlin943298115
8Stuttgart93421716113
9Borussia MonchengladbachBorussia M'bach94141514113
10Werder Bremen93331520-512
11Augsburg93241320-711
12Heidenheim93151212010
13Mainz 05Mainz92431213-110
14Wolfsburg92341617-19
15St Pauli9225711-48
16Hoffenheim92251319-68
17Holstein Kiel91261123-125
18VfL BochumVfL Bochum9018929-201


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