Verdict: Draw no bet Stuttgart
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Stuttgart are hosting Leverkusen in a much-expected Bundesliga blockbuster. A win can help hosts join the challenge for the supreme crown in German football, a trophy they won last time more than 16 years ago (2007).
Stuttgart
Sebastian Hoenes impressed since taking over Stuttgart at the end of the last season, saving the team from relegation in the last rounds. The young manager built on his previous year s success taking this season s Bundesliga by storm. Despite having a difficult summer when key players departed from the team, Hoenes built a squad that is challenging for at least a top 4 finish. Serhou Guirassy, the Guinea striker, has been outstanding so far challenging Harry Kane for the Bundesliga Golden Boot, with the English super-striker scoring 2 more goals (18 total) than his rival.
MHPArena is a fortress that only Hoffenheim managed to conquer this season with a 3-2 win. Die Roten started their Bundesliga campaign on a front foot hammering Bochum 5-0 in the opening game of the season. The hosts pulled other impressive results as well, defeating Dortmund twice (2-1 in the Bundesliga and 2-0 in the German Cup). Sebastian Hoenes s team is in top form winning all of their last 5 competitive games. Stuttgart scored 33 goals in the Bundesliga and conceded only 15 in 13 games played. The match against Leverkusen will be another tough test that the hosts failed to pass in the last 5 years.
Team News
Nikolas Nartey (cartilage damage) and Hiroki Ito (muscle injury) are expected to return only at the end of December. Roberto Massimo (muscular problems) and Lilian Egloff (torn lateral knee ligament) are also out with an unknown return date.
Sebastian Hoenes is expected to use the same 4-4-2 formation from the German Cup 2-0 win at home against Dortmund. Anton and Zagadu will start as centre-backs with Vegnoman and Mittelstadt covering the sides. Milot, Karazor, Stiller and Fuhrich will look to control the midfield with Undav supporting the in-form Guirassy.
Bayer Leverkusen
In-form Bayer Leverkusen are looking to take the Bundesliga crown from the Bavaria giants, Bayern Munchen. Xabi Alonso impressed this season to the point that rumours of him taking charge of Real Madrid in the summer were consistently spread in the media. The fall suffered at the end of last season was forgotten with Leverkusen being undefeated this this term across all competition. Only Bayern Munchen (2-2) and Borussia Dortmund (1-1) managed to leave the turf undefeated when they faced Xabi Alonso s team. It seems like we are heading to another exciting Bundesliga finale like in the previous season when Borussia Dortmund handed over the title to Bayern Munchen, in the last game of the season.
The visitors impressed also in the Europa League topping Group H with maximum points after 5 rounds. Qarabag, Molde and Hacken were all hammered by Leverkusen who scored 14 goals and conceded just 2 so far in the competition. In the Bundesliga, the visitors are averaging an impressive 2.92 goals scored/per game, conceding only 11 times in 13 rounds. Leverkusen fancy playing at MHPArena leaving it unbeaten in the last 11 visits.
Team News
Arthur, the young right-back suffered a muscle injury and will not make the trip to Stuttgart. Timothy Fosu-Mensah is still working towards full-match fitness.
Xabi Alonso will line up his best 11 hoping to remain at the top of Bundesliga. Stanisic, Andrich and Hincapie will form the back line. Xhaka and Palacios try to win the battle from the middle of the pitch, with Frimpong and Grimaldo attacking from the sides. Wirtz, Boniface and Adli will be a real threat to Stuttgart s defence.
Key factors to consider
Stuttgart are in top form winning the last 5 competitive games.
The hosts lost only one game played at home this season, 2-3 with Hoffenheim.
Sebastian Hoenes s team knocked out Borussia Dortmund in the last 16 of DBF Pokal.
Leverkusen is the only team undefeated this season both in Europe and domestically from the top 5 championships.
The visitors have been undefeated against Stuttgart since 2010.
Xabi Alonso has received a lot of credit and is on Florentino Perez s radar to take over Real Madrid in the summer.
Conclusion
Stuttgart and Leverkusen are both in top form before the kick-off. A full-time result is more difficult to predict considering the latest impressive performances the teams had. Both sides are playing attacking football so a match with many goals is being expected. Stuttgart is very solid at home and just made another statement on MHPArena defeating an already qualified in the Champions League knock-out stages, Borussia Dortmund.
Verdict: Draw no bet Stuttgart
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