Hardly anyone imagined that Borussia Dortmund would be in the bottom half of the table in February, but it's a fact. The bad results led to the sacking of Nuri Sahin and now they have to face another team fighting for the Top 4 – Stuttgart.
Borussia Dortmund's management finally fired Nuri Sahin after the team's four consecutive losses in January. Three of them were in the Bundesliga, which dropped BVB further down the standings and made their task much more difficult. But immediately after the dismissal, their results started to improve.
Dortmund's U19 coach, who accepted the interim position, led the team to one draw and two wins, and last week they announced the appointment of Niko Kovac. The former Bayern Munich coach has the complex task of getting the team back into the Top 4 and as far as possible in the Champions League.
On the other end, the last two weeks have been quite difficult for Stuttgart and the team lost back-to-back Bundesliga games. After these results, they also dropped to 5th place and their current aim is to continue their good run against Dortmund and return to winning ways.
How the bookies view it: The odds almost look wrong
Bookmakers expect Niko Kovac to start his job successfully, leading Borussia to a third consecutive victory. At the moment, the hosts are firm 9/10 favourites, which is perhaps surprising given their recent performances against Stuttgart. The win for the visitors and the draw are equally priced at 14/5.
Recent head to head: The Reds with a serious advantage
It's a fact that Borussia Dortmund have the upper hand historically, but they've definitely struggled in their games against Stuttgart from the last few years. The Reds won the last four H2Hs, which include the spectacular 5-1 win in September.
Players to watch: Guirassy to punish his former club
Both squads have players who can shine in such a key clash, but we should certainly target Serhou Guirassy. The striker spent the previous two seasons at Stuttgart, scoring 40 goals in 52 Bundesliga games. He has been with Dortmund since the start of this campaign and scored the only goal for the team in the 5-1 loss. Since Nuri Sahin left the team, Guirassy scored at least once in every game. He will surely want to show his best against his former team.
Probable line-ups
Borussia Dortmund: Kobel, Bensebaini, Anton, Can, Ryerson, Gross, Gittens, Brandt, Sabitzer, Adeyemi, Guirassy
Stuttgart: Nubel, Stergiou, Hendriks, Chabot, Mittelstadt, Fuhrich, Karazor, Stiller, Leweling, Demirovic, Woltemade
Anything else catch the eye?
The clashes between Borussia Dortmund and Stuttgart rarely disappoint the crowd, and we usually see quite a few goals. Seven of the last 10 H2Hs ended with at least three goals, with both teams scoring at least once in six of them.
We think this clash is a great opportunity to win with just these bets, and they can even be combined if your bookmaker allows this option. Nine of Dortmund's last 10 games ended with goals from both teams and overall, Dortmund's defense is not at its usual level right now.
It's definitely possible though that BVB can end their bad streak against Stuttgart and record an emphatic win, just as it happens quite often when managers change.
This German Bundesliga match between Borussia Dortmund and Stuttgart will be played on Feb 8, 2025 and kick off at 14:30. Check below for our tipsters best Borussia Dortmund vs Stuttgart prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
