Stuttgart vs. Frankfurt preview: Toppmöller's soaring Eagles looking to make huge statement
The match that many Germans are perhaps looking forward to more than any other bears the hallmarks of a very exciting affair. A Frankfurt win could remove "VfB international" from the top-four conversation for now.
| Omar Marmoush | Alex Grimm, Getty Images |
Stuttgart
Sebastian Hoeneß' Swabians are coming off a rather disappointing result in the Champions' League, yet won't necessarily be daunted by their task as they have delivered convincing performances across all three competitions this season. Stuttgart beat Eintracht in both league meetings last year. Deniz Undav notched three tallies in the two victories. Frankfurt have not bested the VfB since Hoeneß took the coaching reigns.
In a very interesting side note, six Frenchman representing both sides were once teammates in Ligue 1. VfB newcomer Fabian Rieder and SGE newcomer Arthur Theate played together for Stade Rennes last year. El Bilal Touré and Hugo Ekitiké were attacking partners at Stade Reims during the 2021/22 season. And Anthony Rouault and Fares Chaibi were both under contract at Toulouse from 2019 to 2023.
Team news:
Undav remains questionable with the thigh injury he incurred in the Atalanta Bergamo defeat. Hoeneß was a bit more optimistic when it came to the prospects of central defender Jeff Chabot when speaking at his Friday press conference. The 26-year-old logged some minutes as a sub and could, per Hoeneß, be ready for the starting XI.
Beyond that, the VfB trainer hasn't rotated much this year and there isn't much reason to expect he will in this case. Ermedin Demirovic counts as Undav's most likely replacement. Hoeneß has recently spoken of his hopes of giving summer acquisition Yannik Keitel some minutes, but it doesn't appear as if this is a match to experiment.
Frankfurt
Dino Toppmöller's SGE are the talk of Germany following their league demolition of Bochum last weekend and the win over Slavia Prague in the Europa League on Thursday. New right fullback Nnamdi Collins has impressed to the extent that he received a Germany U21 call-up. Resurgent former German national team player Mahmoud Dahoud is now unquestionably a regular fixture in midfield after a surge in form.
Team news:
Projected rotations should see Hugo Ekitiké return to the starting XI above Can Uzun and Ellyes Skhiri take the place of Hugo Larsson in midfield. It also seems likely that Eric Junior Dina Ebimbe will start above Mario Götze in attack, though the third projected rotation isn't quite as certain as the first two. Arthur Theate - returning from suspension - should start above Nathaniel Brown.
Click here to see our predicted lineups for Frankfurt vs. Stuttgart.