Holstein Kiel vs. Stuttgart DFB-Pokal preview: Team news and predicted lineups

Preview, key insights, team news and predicted lineups as Holstein Kiel take on VfB Stuttgart in the DFB-Pokal quarter-finals on Wednesday evening (20:45 CET).

Defending DFB-Pokal champions VfB Stuttgart will be determined to book their place in the semi-finals when they visit 2. Bundesliga side Holstein Kiel on Wednesday.

Kiel, currently mid-table in the 2. Bundesliga, didn’t have the ideal build-up to the game, suffering a disappointing 1-2 home defeat to Greuther Fürth.

By contrast, Stuttgart secured their third consecutive win in all competitions at the weekend, edging Freiburg 1-0 thanks to a late winner from Ermedin Demirovic.

Although Stuttgart can rightly consider themselves favourites, coach Sebastian Hoeness is well aware about the threat posed by Kiel.

“Kiel are very comfortable in the role of underdogs. They’re a hard-working side, athletic, and bring a great deal of passion to the pitch,” Hoeness said at his pre-match press conference on Tuesday.

The two teams last met in last season’s Bundesliga in March last year, drawing 2-2 in a match that saw Steven Skrzybski score a brace for Kiel.
 

Team news

Holstein Kiel: Alexander Bernhardsson, Patrick Erras and Carl Johansson are sidelined due to injuries.

VfB Stuttgart: Nikolas Nartey will miss the match after picking up a knock at the weekend, while Dan-Axel Zagadou and Tiago Tomas remain unavailable. Fabian Bredlow, who has featured in Stuttgart’s previous cup games this season, is a doubt, meaning that first-choice goalkeeper Alexander Nübel is guaranteed to start in goal.
 

Predicted lineups

Holstein Kiel (4-2-2-2): Weiner – Nekic, Zec, Ivezic, Tolkin – Meffert, Tohumcu – Skrzybski, Kelati – Kapralik, Jakupovic.

VfB Stuttgart (4-2-3-1): Nübel – Assignon, Jeltsch, Chabot, Mittelstädt – Karazor, Stiller – El Khannous, Undav, Leweling – Demirovic.