Stuttgart vs. Bremen preview: VfB go for three in a row
With Serhou Guirassy back at full fitness, Stuttgart are flying yet again with Bremen coming to town on Saturday evening.
| Photo: Jeollo, Vfb-exklusiv.de, CC BY-SA 3.0 |
Stuttgart
3rd-place Stuttgart are coming off a win against Frankfurt and will now have Serhou Guirassy back in the starting lineup this weekend. He’ll pair with in-form Deniz Undav, who’s now making a strong case for a spot on the German national team.
With Hiroki Ito’s injury, Waldemar Anton will likely shift into center defense, meaning Anthony Rouault or Josha Vagnoman should start at right-back. Stuttgart are looking for their third straight league win, as they hope to further stamp their place in the top four.
When asked about Bremen, Sebastian Hoeneß said, “I’m thinking in particular of Mitchell Weiser, Leonardo Bittencourt, and Marvin Ducksch. I’m sure they’ll demand everything of us. We’re at home, half-past six kick-off, under the lights and a full house – with the right attitude I believe we can be successful against them.”
Team News
Hoeneß confirmed that Guirassy and Undav will start together in a front two. Ito, Nikolas Nartey, Lilian Egloff, and Roberto Massimo are out. Alexander Nübel and Angelo Stiller returned to full training on Thursday and will likely play.
Bremen
It’s been a so-so campaign thus far for Werder who didn’t win a match in the month of November. But, they still sit 12th in the table and have enough offensive talent to surprise some teams.
Rafael Borre has shown promise alongside veteran Marvin Ducksch, while speedster Justin Njinmah is a nice change-of-pace option off the bench. The defense suffered a big loss this week as Amos Pieper broke his right ankle in training and will be out for the foreseeable future.
Ole Werner commented, "Stuttgart are on a roll and are a difficult team to play against due to their great individual quality. However, we're obviously going there to win the game."
Team News
Pieper, Nicolai Rapp, and Leon Opitz are out. Jiri Pavlenka has lost his starting place to Michael Zetterer, but Pavelenka may not be included in the squad this week due to an illness.
