Stuttgart vs. Holstein Kiel preview: Die Schwaben looking to extend unbeaten home run

Stuttgart

Stuttgart will be in high spirits after they claimed a dramatic victory over Juventus to end a four-game winless run in all competitions. Deniz Undav saw a goal chalked off, before Enzo Millot missed a penalty after Juventus defender Danilo had been given his marching orders. El Bilal Toure ultimately proved to be Stuttgart’s hero, netting a 92nd-minute winner to seal a narrow 1-0 victory in Turin.

After claiming their first European win of the season, die Schwaben will now turn their focus back to domestic action as they look to end a three-game winless run in the Bundesliga. Stuttgart played out consecutive league draws with Wolfsburg and Hoffenheim, before they fell to a heavy 4-0 defeat in last Saturday’s away meeting with Bayern Munich. As a result, Sebastian Hoeneß’s side are sitting in 10th place and four points adrift of the top six ahead of matchday eight.

Saturday’s hosts can take confidence from the fact they have gone 15 home league games without defeat since losing to Hoffenheim in October 2023. They will be looking to produce another strong attacking display at the MHP Arena after scoring at least three goals in eight of their 11 home league games in 2024.

Team News

Stuttgart are expected to be without Dan-Axel Zagadou, Leonidas Stergiou, Justin Diehl, Laca Raimund and Chris Fuhrich.

Holstein Kiel

Holstein Kiel are one of two teams waiting for their first win of the 2024/25 Bundesliga season. The newly-promoted side are currently languishing in 17th place after drawing two and losing five of their seven league matches. The most recent of those five defeats took place last weekend when they fell to a 2-0 loss in their home meeting with Union Berlin. 

As a result of that defeat, Kiel have now lost all four of their home games in the Bundesliga this season. However, they have at least managed to avoid defeat in their last two away games against Bochum and Bayer Leverkusen, giving them some much-needed inspiration for Saturday’s away trip. 

The visitors can also take confidence from the fact they have won their last two matches against Stuttgart when the two teams faced off in the second tier in 2019/20. Kiel recorded a narrow 1-0 victory at the MHP Arena in October 2019, before they recorded a 3-2 home win in May 2020.

Team News

Kiel boss Marcel Rapp has confirmed that Lewis Holtby and Alexander Berhardsson will miss out through injury. The visitors are also without Andu Kelati and Colin Kleine-Bekel due to knee injuries.