SC Paderborn vs. VfB Stuttgart preview: Seimen’s Bundesliga debut at his former home stadium

SC Paderborn and VfB Stuttgart look for their second wins of the season as they go head-to-head on Saturday afternoon. The hosts ended their goalless and winless run just before the international break, while Stuttgart already played against FC Bayern and Borussia Dortmund.

SC Paderborn

Former FC Bayern midfielder Gabriel Vidovic helped Paderborn to a friendly win over MLS side DC United during the international break. The Croat was also instrumental when Ralf Kettemann’s side stunned Hoffenheim on matchday 4.

Paderborn immediately returned to 2. Bundesliga in their first two top-flight campaigns, and all things pointed to the continuation of that trend when they failed to even score in the first three weeks. However, the three goals and three points against the Europa League participants could be the turning point for the side from North Rhine-Westphalia.

Team News

Since there are no new injuries or suspensions, Kettemann will most likely use the same starting lineup from the Hoffenheim game. Laurin Ulrich will face his parent club after helping Germany U21 to qualify for the 2027 Euros.

VfB Stuttgart

Sebastian Hoeneß’s side played friendlies against 2. Bundesliga sides Heidenheim and Greuther Fürth in the past two weeks. Deniz Undav, Angelo Stiller and Jamie Leweling worked towards improving their underwhelming start, which caused the disappointment of not making Jürgen Klopp’s extended squad.

The Swabians had a tricky fixture list so far as last season’s fourth-placed side are now fourth from bottom after four games. With one eye on their midweek trip to Slovakia, they will hope to secure their first points away from home.

Team News

Hoeneß confirmed Dennis Seimen will start in place of Fabian Bredlow for his Bundesliga debut. The 20-year-old shot-stopper helped Paderborn to a Bundesliga promotion during his loan spell at Home Deluxe Arena. He made his return from a thigh injury in the 5-0 win over Fürth.  

The new captain Undav had a first-half brace in that friendly match, while Dženan Pejčinović also scored twice to seal Euros qualification for Germany U21.

Head-to-Head

Stuttgart are unbeaten in this fixture, having won four of the five encounters between them so far. Their only meeting in the last decade was a DFB-Pokal tie in 2023, in which Serhou Guirassy scored an injury-time winner for VfB.

Predicted Lineups

Click here to see our predicted starting lineups for SC Paderborn vs. VfB Stuttgart.

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Bayern Munich–Union Berlin (18 September 2026): full-time Over 2.5 goals across each team’s last 10 Bundesliga matches, home and away; captured 16 September 2026. Includes previous-season results; percentages show historical frequency, not a prediction.