VfB Stuttgart vs. Borussia Mönchengladbach preview: Winless sides look for first three points | OneFootball

Stuttgart

Stuttgart have been at the centre of news across the Bundesliga this summer, with the future of Nick Woltemade continuing to be a huge topic.

Now, with the forward set for a big money move to Newcastle, the hope is that the rumours surrounding the towering striker can be left in the past, while Die Schwaben will have almost €90 million to play with in the transfer window's closing stages.

Sebastian Hoeneß's side suffered from similar issues to last season on opening weekend, as they failed to convert from a plethora of chances before falling to a 2-1 defeat on the road against Union Berlin.

Stuttgart have since progressed to the second round of the DFB-Pokal after beating Eintracht Braunschweig 8-7 on penalties, and are now going into the weekend aiming to avoid losing back-to-back matches at the start of a new season for the first time since 2018/19, when they were relegated from the top flight.

Team News

The chances are that Stuttgart's team news may fluctuate over the coming weeks, with the potential for further arrivals with the added Woltemade money.

The striker will likely miss this weekend's clash, with the deal for him to make the Premier League move rapidly progressing.

Justin Diehl, Silas and Leonidas Stergiou are all sidelined through injury. Luca Jaquez and Jeff Chabot will be assessed ahead of kick-off, after Jaquez broke his nose against Union, while Chabot is suffering from a small groin issue.

Predicted lineup - 4-2-3-1: Nübel - Vagnoman, Jeltsch, Hendriks, Mittelstädt - Karazor, Stiller - Leweling, Undav, Führich - Demirovic

Borussia Mönchengladbach

Borussia Mönchengladbach kicked off their season with a hard-fought 3-2 win over fifth-tier Atlas Delmenhorst in the opening round of the DFB-Pokal, before grinding out a goalless draw away to newly-promoted Hamburg in their Bundesliga curtain-raiser last weekend.

Defensive frailties remain a concern for Die Fohlenelf. Last season, they conceded the highest expected goals tally in the division (64.3) and shipped 57 goals, a figure bettered by only four other clubs. And although they managed a clean sheet on matchday one, Hamburg still registered 17 shots and dominated possession with 62%.

Gladbach are now winless in their last eight Bundesliga outings (D3, L5) stretching back to last season - the longest current run without a victory in the league, and their worst sequence under head coach Gerardo Seoane since he took charge in July 2023.

Even so, Seoane’s men can take encouragement from their recent trip to Stuttgart, where they claimed a 2-1 win in February. Another victory this weekend would see them record consecutive away league wins over Die Schwaben for the first time since a run of four between 2015 and 2017.

History is on their side too: only against local rivals FC Köln (83) have Gladbach collected more Bundesliga away points than they have against Stuttgart (53, adjusted to three points per win).

Team News

Tim Kleindienst, who has netted four times in his last five Bundesliga encounters with Stuttgart, will miss out this weekend due to a knee injury. He joins Wael Mohya (knee), Nathan Ngoumou (Achilles) and Miklas Swider (illness) on the sidelines.

There could, however, be a debut for Giovanni Reyna following his arrival from Borussia Dortmund last weekend. The USA international has fond memories of facing Stuttgart, having scored three goals against them - his joint-best tally against any single opponent, alongside Holstein Kiel.

Predicted lineup - 4-2-3-1: Nicolas - Scally, Diks, Elvedi, Ullrich - Sander, Reitz - Honora, Stöger, Hack - Tabakovic