Stuttgart vs. Köln preview: Hosts looking for bounce-back result

Stuttgart lost last weekend and will want to return to winning ways against a dangerous Köln side.

Stuttgart

After a great run of form, Stuttgart were brought back down to Earth on Saturday with a 2-1 loss to St. Pauli. The loss to the relegation candidates keeps them in fifth place and gives Bayer Leverkusen a chance to close the gap as the race for Europe heats up.

That result was Stuttgart’s first Bundesliga loss since December 6 against Bayern Munich. Since then, Sebastian Hoeneß’s side have been on a tear, going seven league games unbeaten. However, St. Pauli proved to be a difficult challenge, as the hosts took the lead early in the first half and held on.

Stuttgart have enjoyed great success against Köln lately, with no losses to Effzeh since December 2021. Stuttgart won the earlier match-up this season 2-1 thanks to a Josha Vagnoman winner, and have lost only once at home this season.

Team News

Tiago Tomás has returned to the squad following a muscle injury that has kept him out for all of 2026 so far. Dan-Axel Zagadou and Lazar Jovanovic are still out with injuries, while Nikolas Nartey is not expected to play yet. It is unclear whether Angelo Stiller (cold) will be able to play.

Jeff Chabot has been guaranteed of starting in his return to his former side.

Predicted Lineup: Nübel, Vagnoman, Jeltsch, Chabot, Mittelstädt, Karazor, Andrés, Leweling, El Khannouss, Führich, Undav

Köln

After a terrible end to the year, Köln have started 2026 in much better form. The club have lost only three of six games, with those losses coming against Bayern Munich, Freiburg, and RB Leipzig. As a result, Effzeh have climbed up to 10th, although they remain only four points from safety.

Köln battled to a 2-1 loss against Leipzig last weekend, briefly pulling level in the second half. A second goal from Christoph Baumgartner was enough to beat Lukas Kwasniok’s side, though, who were coming off a 1-0 win against relegation-threatened Wolfsburg.

Köln have been poor on the road this season, winning only two of ten games. Their last road win was against Hoffenheim in October 2025.

Team News

Ísak Bergmann Jóhannesson is in doubt for the game due to illness. Dominique Heintz is back in the squad. Jahmai Simpson-Pusey is still sidelined due to injury, alongside Linton Maina, Alessio Castro-Montes, Timo Hübers, and Luca Kilian.

Predicted Lineup: Schwäbe, Sebulonsen, van den Berg, Özkacar, Thielmann, Martel, Krauß, Lund, Bülter, Kamiński, Ache