Stuttgart, aiming to break into the top 24 of the Champions League standings, will host bottom-placed Young Boys at the Mercedes-Benz-Arena on Wednesday night for matchday 6 of the league phase.
The hosts sit 27th in the table with four points from five games, while the visitors are in 36th, having yet to earn a point after losing all five of their matches.
Match preview
Stuttgart enjoyed a brilliant 2023-24 campaign, climbing from the brink of relegation in 2022-23, where they finished 16th and overcame Hamburger SV 6-1 on aggregate in the relegation playoffs, to securing an impressive second-placed finish.
That finish, their best since winning the Bundesliga title in 2006-07, secured Stuttgart a place in this year's Champions League, marking their first appearance in the competition since being eliminated by Barcelona in the round of 16 in 2009-10.
While Stuttgart have not reached the same heights in the early stages of this campaign, sitting eighth in the Bundesliga with 20 points from five wins, five draws and three defeats after 13 matches, they trail the top four by just four points and are still in contention for a place in the Champions League knockout rounds.
Sebastian Hoeness's men are currently 27th in the league phase table with four points after five games, from one win, one draw and three defeats, leaving them only two points behind 24th-placed Real Madrid in the final qualification place.
With just three games remaining, Stuttgart are in desperate need of points to strengthen their chance of placing in the top 24, and Hoeness may fancy his side's chances considering their favourable fixtures against 36th-placed Young Boys and 35th-placed Slovan Bratislava, albeit followed by a challenging encounter with 25th-placed Paris Saint-Germain.
They did, however, devastatingly lose their last Champions League match 5-1 to Red Star Belgrade, though they have bounced back with a draw against Werder Bremen and back-to-back wins against SSV Jahn Regensburg and Union Berlin.
As for Young Boys, they come into this match as one of only three teams in the Champions League still searching for their first point of the league phase, having lost all five of their fixtures so far.
Their European struggles coincide with a miserable start to their domestic campaign, as they currently sit ninth in the Swiss Super League table with 20 points after 17 games, from five wins, five draws and seven defeats.
That resembles a far cry from their huge success in the Swiss Super League in past seasons, having lifted the title in six of the last seven years after initially ending a 32-year title drought in 2017-18, only missing out with a third-placed finish in 2021-22 in the following seasons.
Joel Magnin, who took over as caretaker manager last season after Raphael Wicky's dismissal and guided the team to the Swiss Super League title, once again stepped in on an interim basis in October following the dismissal of Patrick Rahmen after a poor start to the campaign.
However, Magnin has not been able to replicate his previous positive impact, losing five of his 12 matches, along with five wins and two draws, including a heavy 6-1 loss to Atalanta in their last Champions League fixture and a 3-1 defeat to FC Sion in their most recent outing.
With victories in their final three matches against Stuttgart, Celtic and Red Star Belgrade of paramount importance if they are to have any chance of placing in the top 24, Magnin will be desperate for his side to secure their first win of the Champions League campaign here.
Team News
Stuttgart are anticipated to be without Ameen Al Dakhil, Dan-Axel Zagadou, Deniz Undav, El Bilal Toure, Jamie Leweling and Luca Raimund for this match due to injury issues.
Ermedin Demirovic, Stuttgart's top scorer in the Bundesliga with seven goals in 13 appearances, is expected to start in the absence of Undav, and Hoeness will be relying on the striker to improve his tally of just one Champions League goal in five appearances as they search for a win here.
Young Boys are unable to call upon the services of Ebrima Colley, Facinet Conte, Miguel Chaiwa, Sadin Crnovrsanin, Saidy Janko and Tanguy Zoukrou for this match due to injuries.
After a 3-1 defeat to Sion in their last outing, Magnin may make several changes in search of an improved performance and much-needed result in their league phase campaign.
Stuttgart possible starting lineup:
Nubel; Stergiou, Rouault, Chabot, Mittelstadt; Karazor, Stiller; Vagnoman, Millot, Fuhrich; Demirovic
Young Boys possible starting lineup:
Von Ballmoos; Athekame, Lauper, Benito, Conte; Males, Ugrinic, Niasse, Itten; Monteiro, Ganvoula
We say: Stuttgart 3-1 Young Boys
Young Boys have had a dreadful start to the season in both the Champions League and Swiss Super League, and while Stuttgart have struggled in their five league phase matches, they are undoubtedly the favourites heading into this one, and we expect a comfortable win for the hosts.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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