VfB Stuttgart vs. Mainz preview: Hosts look for response after European defeat

VfB Stuttgart welcome Mainz to Neckarstadion for the final match of the Bundesliga weekend, with the hosts looking to respond after their recent Europa League defeat to Fenerbahce.

Stuttgart

Sebastian Hoeneß’s Stuttgart fell to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Fenerbahce in the Europa League on Thursday evening, making it two successive defeats in the competition after losing to Basel earlier this month.

Domestically, Die Schwaben are flying, and are aiming for six wins in a row on German soil across two matches against Mainz in the space of a week – the second coming in the DFB-Pokal on Wednesday. 

VfB secured a dominant 3-0 victory against Wolfsburg last time out, lifting them up to third in the Bundesliga thanks to goals from Tiago Tomas, Maximilian Mittelstädt and Angelo Stiller.

While Hoeneß’s side qualified for the Europa League via their Pokal triumph in May, they missed out on a European position in the Bundesliga through missed opportunities in home fixtures against the likes of Mainz, with whom they played out a 3-3 draw in the opening weeks of last term.

A win against the same opponents this weekend would make a huge statement as Stuttgart aim for the top four this season.

Team News

Ermedin Demirovic remains out for Stuttgart and will do so for the foreseeable future. Luckily for Hoeneß, the injury to his main centre-forward coincides with the return of Deniz Undav, who featured as a second-half substitute in the Istanbul defeat.

Justin Diehl, Pascal Stenzel, and third-choice goalkeeper Stefan Drljaca are also absent.

Predicted lineup – 3-4-2-1: Nübel – Jeltsch, Chabot, Hendriks – Assignon, Chema, Stiller, Mittelstädt – Tomas, El Khannouss – Undav

Mainz

Die Nullfünfer are suffering from a somewhat expected hangover as a result of their sensational run last campaign that resulted in Conference League qualification.

Bo Henriksen’s side currently occupy the relegation play-off place, after picking up just four points across their opening seven Bundesliga matches, with only one win to their name – a 4-1 triumph against Augsburg back in September. 

They have since fallen to defeat against Borussia Dortmund, Hamburg, and Bayer Leverkusen, with the heaviest being a 4-0 defeat at the Volksparkstadion before the international break. 

In Europe, Mainz are faring much better, with two wins in two against Omonoia Nicosia, and Zrinjski Mostar, whom they dispatched 1-0 at Mewa Arena on Thursday evening.

Mainz beat Stuttgart 2-0 in their most recent clash back in January, and will hope that they have the number of Hoeneß once again as they search for points in the league, before the sides meet again in the DFB-Pokal on Wednesday. 

Team News

Mainz’s injury list is relatively small, with only Anthony Caci and Maxim Dal making up the absentee numbers. The pair will be out until at least mid-January.

Predicted lineup – 3-4-2-1: Zentner – Da Costa, Bell, Kohr – Nordin, Amiri, Sano, Mwene – Nebel, Lee – Hollerbach