Stuttgart will host Borussia Dortmund with both teams hoping to recover from losses in the Bundesliga. Heidenheim defeated Stuttgart 2-0 last weekend, while Dortmund lost Der Klassiker to Bayern Munich 4-0 at home.
Preview (Stuttgart vs. Borussia Dortmund)
Stuttgart started the season with an incredible 21 points out of a possible 24. In the last few weeks, they have fallen back to earth as Hoffenheim and Heidenheim. After all, they are still third in the table after ten games. Last weekend at Voith-Arena, both teams fought to break the scoreless draw. Heidenheim had 17 shots compared to Stuttgart’s 19 shots during the match. Goals in the last minute from Jan Schoppner and Tim Kleindienst gave the recently promoted team a vital victory. Naturally, it is not surprising that Serhou Guirassy’s hamstring injury and Stuttgart’s decline in performance have occurred at the same time. Even a team with more depth than Stuttgart would struggle to replace a striker of his caliber.
But, Guirassy’s contract purportedly contains a release clause of about £15 million. The Guinean striker’s absence from Stuttgart’s starting lineup may soon become permanent. Former Brighton & Hove Albion forward Deniz Undav will be aiming to find his shooting form again this weekend as he seeks to replace his teammate’s sizable vacuum. Prior to the loss to Heidenheim, he had scored five goals in five games. For Dortmund, November has been much more of a rollercoaster ride. On the one hand, they have increased their chances of making it to the Champions League knockout stages. On the other hand, they have lost more ground on the top two teams in the Bundesliga.
This helped them stay two points behind league leaders Bayer Leverkusen. They defeated Hoffenheim to go seven points clear of Stuttgart and Dortmund. More importantly, Dortmund defeated Newcastle United on Tuesday to take the lead in Group F of the Champions League. The hosts earned a well-earned victory with two goals from Julian Brandt and Niclas Fullkrug on each side of halftime, which puts them in a good position to advance from this season’s “Group of Death.”
Team News
Due to a hamstring injury, Guirassy is set to be out of Stuttgart’s lineup; however, following the international break, the 27-year-old should be fully recovered and ready to play when his team travels to Eintracht Frankfurt. He will continue to be replaced in the attack by Undav. Due to a knee injury, Nicolas Nartey is still out, and Pascal Stenzel is questionable because of a thigh strain. Jeong Woo-yeong, who has struggled to make an impression since signing from Freiburg in the summer, may lose out on a recall in favor of Enzo Millot.
Dortmund, on the other hand, could have to make a few adjustments following a demanding stretch of games in recent weeks. Due to Donyell Malen’s complete rest versus Newcastle, club captain Marco Reus was only used as a reserve, allowing those two to replace Salih Ozcan and Karem Adeyemi and reenergize the visiting team’s attack.
Stuttgart 1 – 2 Borussia Dortmund
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