Gladbach vs. Stuttgart preview: High-flying visitors continue Champions League push
Stuttgart will continue their quest for Champions League qualification when they face Gladbach on Saturday.
Gladbach
Gladbach will head into Sunday’s contest in 12th position after winning four, drawing five and losing seven of their 16 league matches. Die Fohlen entered the winter break following a poor run of form that saw them win just one of their final five league matches of 2023 (D1, L3).
In their most recent outing, Gerardo Seoane gave up a narrow lead to lose 2-1 to Eintracht Frankfurt. They looked to be on course to claim all three points when Maximilian Wöber opened the scoring in the 27th minute. However, Gladbach’s goalscorer was subsequently sent off in the closing stages, leading to a dramatic turnaround. Frankfurt went on to make full use of the numerical advantage, netting two stoppage-time goals to claim a 2-1 victory and extend Gladbach’s winless run to three matches.
Gladbach have at least proven to be a tough team to beat on home turf, having avoided defeat in each of their last five league matches at Borussia-Park (W3, D2). They also enjoyed success in their most recent home game against Stuttgart in November 2022 when they ran out 3-1 winners in front of their own supporters.
Team News
Jonas Omlin, Tomas Cvancara, Lukas Ullrich and Hannes Wolf will miss out due to injury. Wöber is set to serve a one-match suspension, while Ko Itakura is away with Japan at the Asian Cup in Qatar.
Stuttgart
Sebastian Hoeneß will be hoping his side can pick up from where they left out before the winter break, having collected 34 points from their 16 matches. In their final match of 2023, die Schwaben cruised to a 3-0 victory over Augsburg thanks to goals from Denis Undav, Serhou Guirassy and Chris Führich.
After extending their unbeaten home run to four matches in their last outing, Stuttgart will begin the new year with an away trip. The third-placed side have experienced mixed results on their travels this season, having won four and lost three of their seven away league games.
While they will be hoping to claim their fifth away victory on Sunday, they have tended to struggle in their recent trips to Borussia-Park. Stuttgart have won just one of their last eight away league matches against Gladbach. The sole victory came via a 2-1 scoreline in May 2021.
Team News
Stuttgart are unable to call upon the injured Nikolas Nartey, while Lilian Egloff is a doubt. Meanwhile, Hiroki Ito, Woo-yeong Jeong, Silas and Guirassy are all on international duty.