Struggling Arminia Bielefeld travel to the Mercedes-Benz Arena to face Stuttgart on Wednesday in a second round clash in the DFB-Pokal.

Neither side have started the season particularly well, but the visitors face the frightening prospect of dropping into the third tier if current form continues.

Match preview

Stuttgart's 4-1 win over Bochum at the weekend moved Die Schwaben out of the relegation zone, as they finally secured their first league victory of the season at the 10th attempt under caretaker Michael Wimmer, having drawn five and lost four up to that point.

Despite their lowly league position, Stuttgart have picked up some impressive results this season, including an early season draw with RB Leipzig, and a famous point away at the Allianz Arena against Bayern Munich, which was secured thanks to a stoppage-time Serhou Guirassy goal.

Their only other win of the season came in the first round back in August, when they narrowly edged past Dynamo Dresden by one goal to nil, holding on in the final quarter of the game with 10 men.

They have reached two finals in the last 15 years but were the losers on both occasions, and as they have slumped from European regulars to relegation candidates, their cup form has tailed off too, as their last final was in 2013.

Stuttgart often fare quite well against lower league opposition though, as they have lost just twice in 12 years to sides in the division below.

In Arminia Bielefeld's brief stint in the Bundesliga in the last couple of years, before their relegation in May, they beat Stuttgart three times without conceding, and drew the other encounter 1-1.

Things are very different now though, as Bielefeld are bottom of the 2.Bundesliga and back-to-back relegations seem a very real possibility after a woeful start which has left them four points from safety.

Daniel Scherning has struggled in his first few months in the role and is under pressure to improve things rapidly, as his side have lost three in a row, conceding eight goals in the process.

Surprisingly though, over half of the points they have picked up have come against sides in the top six, so they may relish this challenge against better opponents.

However, second round exits from the Pokal are common for Bielefeld, as they have lost at this stage in eight of the last 14 seasons, as well as four defeats in the first round too during that time frame.

Team News

Striker Guirassy will return for Stuttgart after serving a one-match suspension following a red card against Union Berlin, and the Guinean will likely replace Luca Pfeiffer in the starting lineup.

Atakan Karazor will also return to the side from a suspension after he missed the win over Bochum having picked up five yellow cards in just eight matches so far, but Waldemar Anton will miss the game after he was sent off in the first round win.

Ex-Arsenal man Konstantinos Mavropanos is a doubt for this one after he went off with concussion at the weekend, but they will be without Naouirou Ahamada after the Frenchman went off early with a muscular issue.

Josha Vagnoman is almost ready to return after missing over a month with a bruised ankle picked up after he was sent off against Schalke at the start of September.

Frederik Jakel may be okay to return to the Bielefeld side after he missed the weekend's defeat with a concussion, and if he does, will most probably come in for Andres Andrade.

His return would help them greatly in defence as they remain without Lukas Klunter, who is still suffering with a hip injury picked up before the international break.

Goalkeeper Stefanos Kapino is close to a return, but the signing of Austrian international Martin Fraisl may keep him out of the side for the time being.

Forward Fabian Klos, who scored two in the first round in August, looks set to remain out with a thigh injury, but there could be a chance for Turkish youth starlet Burak Ince to get a look-in here, as his only appearances were all back in August after joining from Altinordu's talented academy at the start of the year.

Stuttgart possible starting lineup:
Muller, Mavropanos, Ito, Zagadou; Silas, Fuhrich, Karazor, Endo, Sosa; Guirassy, Tomas

Arminia Bielefeld possible starting lineup:
Fraisl; Sidler, Husing, Jakel, Bello; Hack, Vasiliadis, Lepinjica, Rzatkowski, Okugawa; Serra

We say: Stuttgart 2-0 Arminia Bielefeld

Stuttgart will come into the game as huge favourites and with a bit of momentum following their big win at the weekend, and the form of Silas Katompa Mvumpa is a big plus point for Michael Wimmer's side.

Bielefeld need to sort their league form out quickly and their heads may be elsewhere as a very tough cup fixture awaits.

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

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