Stuttgart vs RB Leipzig
, KO: 19:45 , MHPArena
Stuttgart's campaign so far has not gone to plan, with the team dropping out of the Champions League ingloriously and finding themselves in the bottom half of the Bundesliga table. However, winning the DFB Pokal would salvage this tragic season, but they need to beat RB Leipzig first.
We were definitely expecting Stuttgart's league form to improve at least a bit after their Champions League elimination, but the reality is quite different. The team's last win was nearly two months ago in early February, when they somewhat surprisingly beat Dortmund at Signal Iduna Park. Since then, the team has had four losses and two draws in the Bundesliga. In the last round, they had to play with a man down in the last 35 minutes and lost 1-0 to Eintracht Frankfurt.
You could say that RB Leipzig are not having one of their strong seasons either, but at least they have a chance to qualify for the CL or one of the other UEFA tournaments again. They are 6th in the Bundesliga but only have one win in the last five rounds. Unlike Stuttgart, RB can boast of their strong defence, as there are only two teams with fewer goals conceded in the elite. But there is certainly room for improvement in their attacking play.
How the bookies view it: Why is Stuttgart's advantage so significant?
Bookmakers give Stuttgart a significant advantage, giving them just 1/1 to win. This feels unnatural, given their form in recent months. RB Leipzig's odds are considerably higher, as you can pick them at 5/2. The draw has been calculated at 27/10.
Recent head to head: Many years of RB dominance
The recent meetings between Stuttgart and RB Leipzig have been great and offered fans plenty of goals and surprising results. Just to note, RB dominated the rivalry completely until the last two games, which were won by Stuttgart. Before that, RB had won nine out of the 11 matches the teams played since RB joined the elite around a decade ago.
Players to watch: Woltemade already punished Leipzig once this season
Nick Woltemade is making a strong case for his future with his performances this season, with a total of 12 goals for Stuttgart so far. It is important to note that he scored once in each of the three cup games he took part in. He also scored the winning goal for the team in the first match against RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga this season.
Probable line-ups
Stuttgart: Nubel, Jeltsch, Chabot, Hendriks, Mittelstadt, Karazor, Stiller, Millot, Fuhrich, Leweling, Demirovic
RB Leipzig: Vandevoordt, Klostermann, Orban, Bitshiabu, Raum, Baku, Seiwald, Simons, Haidara, Openda, Baumgartner
Anything else catch the eye?
This is quite an interesting rivalry, considering it took Stuttgart nearly ten years to beat RB Leipzig for the first time. But they won the last two games 2-1 and 5-2, including the first meeting this season. What the last five H2Hs have in common is that both teams scored at least once in each match. We expect the same in this match.
Stuttgart are not in good form, but they have scored goals in almost every game. More importantly, they also concede almost always. Eight of their last 10 games had BTTS. With RB Leipzig, we notice the opposite, as they had BTTS in only two of their last 10 fixtures. However, we expect it in this game because it's for the cup and is literally the last chance for both teams to win something this season.
This match between Stuttgart and RB Leipzig will be played on and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Stuttgart vs RB Leipzig prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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