It is a chance to secure topflight football next season as VfB Stuttgart host Hamburger SV in the first leg of the Bundesliga relegation playoff. Both teams picked up their form in the final weeks of the regular season but at the Mercedes-Benz Arena, Stuttgart are expected to have the upper hand over the second-tier side.
VfB Stuttgart head into Thursday’s clash off the back of a 1-1 draw with Hoffenheim in their final regular season fixture. They fell behind midway through the second half but struck back 10 minutes from time through Tiago Tomas.
Sebastian Hoeneß’s men are in the relegation playoff after finishing third from bottom in the Bundesliga, although they attempted a late rally in the final weeks of the campaign. They have lost just once their last eight league matches, with a 4-1 victory at Mainz and a 2-1 trophy over Borussia Monchengladbach among their results in that run.
The win over Monchengladbach extends a decent home record for Stuttgart, who have lost just once in their last six Bundesliga matches at the Mercedes-Benz Arena. However, defending remains a problem as they have kept just one clean sheet in that run while also conceding three goals twice.
Hamburger SV just missed out on automatic promotion to the topflight after finishing one point behind 2 Bundesliga winners Heidenheim. Like Stuttgart, they attempted a late rally by winning their final three regular season fixtures but ultimately fell just short.
Despite missing out on automatic promotion, Hamburg will still head into Thursday’s clash with confidence given their recent form. They claimed a 1-0 victory over Sandhausen in their previous fixture with Jean-Luc Dompe getting the only goal.
Although they are coming off an away win, things have not been particularly smooth for Hamburg on their travels with just two wins in their last eight fixtures in the road. Defending has also been a problem for Tim Walter’s men, who have kept just one clean sheet in that run while also conceding two or more goals five times.
How the bookies view it
Stuttgart are considered overwhelming favourites among the bookies with a home win priced at 13/19 by 10bet. A victory for Hamburg is valued at 4/1 by bet365 while Unibet is offering odds of 10/3 for a draw.
Head to head
Hamburg have a 47-42 advantage with 22 draws from 111 previous matches he’s against Stuttgart. However, Die Schwaben have won the last three meetings, including a 3-2 victory in a 2 Bundesliga fixture back in 2020.
Players to watch
Serhou Guirassy was one of the shining lights for Stuttgart in a difficult campaign, finishing with 11 goals in the regular season. The striker has also found the net three times in the last four matches and is priced at 11/8 by William Hill to score anytime.
Hamburg also have a prolific forward of their own with Robert Glatzel finishing with 19 goals during the regular season. Despite going slightly off the boil lately, he could still be worth keeping an eye on at 13/5 by William Hill.
Anything else catch the eye?
Neither team has been convincing at the back lately and given the quality in both attacks, goals could be expected here. The last two meetings have produced over 4.5 goals which is priced at 10/3 by Unibet while over 3.5 goals could also be considered at 7/5 by Paddy Power.
There have been second half goals for both teams in Stuttgart’s last five home matches and Thursday’s clash can be set to follow a similar pattern at 7/4 with William Hill.
This German Bundesliga match between VfB Stuttgart and Hamburger SV will be played on Jun 1, 2023 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best VfB Stuttgart vs Hamburger SV prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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Correct score