VfB Stuttgart vs. Werder Bremen preview: Undav and Füllkrug in contrasting form ahead of Topspiel
| Niclas Füllkrug and Deniz Undav | Alex Grimm/Getty Images |
Deniz Undav's VfB Stuttgart will host Niclas Füllkrug's Werder Bremen in the marquee fixture of matchday 10.
VfB Stuttgart
The captain's goal drought contributed to Stuttgart's slow start to the season. Undav had found the net twice, but none of those goals came in the league as his poor form led him to miss out on Jürgen Klopp's squad nomination for the second time.
Meanwhile, Ermedin Demirović has been their go-to guy this season, although he was unable to score in the defeat against Galatasaray, who had an unsuccessful attempt to sign the Bosnian striker in the summer. Stuttgart returned to winning ways in Bundesliga on matchday 8 after successive defeats.
Team News
The absence of Atakan Karazor and Angelo Stiller in midfield would cause selection issues for Hoeneß, although the former has a slight chance to recover from an injury that forced his early substitution against Galatasaray.
Demirović and Undav started together against both Leverkusen and the Turkish champions, although Hoeneß preferred different playing systems. In goal, Dennis Seimen is expected to return in place of the experienced Fabian Bredlow.
Werder Bremen
After matching Rudi Völler's club record of scoring in seven successive Bundesliga games, Füllkrug earned a national team call-up by Klopp on Thursday. The 33-year-old leads the scoring chart in Bundesliga, and he already opened a five-goal lead over a certain Harry Kane.
The nine goals from the former Torjägerkanone winner helped Werder Bremen to start the matchday in fifth place after having to fight relegation consistently in past seasons. Daniel Thioune’s troops are unbeaten in Bundesliga since starting the campaign with a 4-1 defeat to Freiburg.
Team News
Mitchell Weiser suffered another injury setback inside the first 15 minutes in last week's 2-0 win over TSG Hoffenheim, and he'll miss this one at the very least. Eren Dinkci, who scored the second goal after replacing him, is expected to start in the right wing.
Head-to-head
Werder Bremen are unbeaten in their last two trips to Stuttgart, although the Swabians did win 4-0 at Weserstadion last season. The last time a game between the two sides ended goalless was in February 2006.
Predicted Lineups
Click here to see our predicted Stuttgart vs. Werder Bremen lineups.
