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VFB Stuttgart vs Bochum preview, team news, tickets, and prediction

VFB Stuttgart vs Bochum preview, team news, tickets, and prediction

Stuttgart and Bochum will trade tackles at the MHP Arena for their first meeting of the 2024/25 Bundesliga campaign.

As of the time of writing, Stuttgart has garnered 13 points from 10 games and they sit in 11th spot. Bochum has two points from the same number of games and they stay bottom of the log.

Stuttgart, one of the most decorated teams in German football, has been struggling with consistency this term. They are in the UEFA Champions League after some massive exploits last term, but they have not been able to replicate such performances in most of their games in all competitions this season. The side, touted by many, to rival the likes of Borussia Dortmund, Leipzig, and co, is not far from the drop zone after ten matches into the season.

Hoeness Sebastian and his side lost out to Bayer Leverkusen in the German Super Cup before beating Munster 5-0 in their DFB Pokal game. The Bundesliga opener against Mainz finished 3-3. Die Roten led 2-0 through Enzo Millot and Jamie Leweling before Nadiem Amiri pulled one back for the visitors. Jonathan Bukardt then completed the comeback for Mainz before Fabian Rieder thought he had won it for Stuttgart in the dying moments of the game; only for Maxim Leitsch to score an equalizer deep into stoppage time. The first league win of the season came in the second match of the new campaign at Borussia Monchengladbach - 3-1 win.

In the UEFA Champions League opener against Real Madrid, they lost 3-1 before thumping Borussia Dortmund 5-1 in the Bundesliga in one of their biggest results of the season. Another stalemate on the road against Wolfsburg kept their unbeaten start to the season going. In the Champions League, Sparta Prague held them to a 1-1 draw at the MHP Arena.

Upon return to the Bundesliga, their draw form continued as they were held to another 1-1 draw against Hoffenheim. Ermedin Demirovic scored a late equalizer to save his side from the jaws of defeat. Eventually, the first defeat of the season came against Bayern Munich. After a goalless first half, the Bavarians ran riot. Despite that setback, Stuttgart grabbed their first win in the Champions League with a shock 1-0 win over Juventus in Turin. That win was backed by another win in the Bundesliga against Kiel before a 2-1 win over Kaiserslautern in the DFB Pokal.

However, November has been a tough month for Stuttgart as they have failed to win any of their three matches. A goalless draw with defending champions Leverkusen before losses to Atalanta (UEFA Champions League) and Frankfurt just before the international break.

On the other hand, Bochum has been poor in the Bundesliga this season. Since earning promotion back to the elite division in the 2020-21 season, the side has struggled with keeping their place. Just last term, they needed to overturn a deficit in their relegation playoff with Fortuna Düsseldorf to maintain their Bundesliga status. Having been down 3-0 in the first leg, they went on to advance 6–5 on penalties.

Die Unabsteigbaren have started this season in the same manner and it seems it is going to be a long season for them. They were bundled out of the DFB Pokal by Regensburg early on before two consecutive defeats to RB Leipzig and Monchengladbach ushered them into the new Bundesliga season. Their winless run continued with another defeat to Freiburg on the road before they claimed their first point of the campaign in a 2-2 draw with Kiel at home. From that point on, they have lost five of their past six games. The other point they have this term came in the 1-1 draw with defending champions Leverkusen just before the international break. It has been a terrible start to the season, just like how it played out for them last term.

Based on the above, Stuttgart is better placed to claim all three points in this encounter when they both meet after the international break. Bochum are the only side yet to win a game in the league this season and there are no pointers to them putting an end to that. They have also scored just 10 goals - an average of a goal per game, while they have conceded 30 goals over the same period. Despite Stuttgart's staggered form in all competitions this season, they have only lost once at home in the Bundesliga and that will even make this fixture more difficult for Die Unabsteigbaren to compete.

In their past 20 meetings, Stuttgart has won 12 times, Bochum has won 2 times, and 6 ended in a draw. Stuttgart scored 33 goals and Bochum scored 15 goals in these matches.

Match tickets

The epic match at MHP Arena in Stuttgart will kick off at 14:30 GMT on Saturday, November 23rd, 2024.

The 60,058-capacity stadium will host this league game between Die Roten and Die Unabsteigbaren.

Getting Stuttgart v Bochum tickets could take a lot of work given the standard of this game. Hence, you are advised to search ticket reselling sites should they be expectedly sold out on each club's channels.

Team news

Line-ups

Stuttgart may have blown hot and cold this term but they still have strong players in their ranks to prosecute this fixture. Alex Nubel should keep his place in goal, while skipper Atakan Karazor will hope to dictate play from midfield, while Ermedin Demirovic and Enzo Millot can add the finishing touches in front of goal. Deniz Undav, Dan-Axel Zagadou, and Jamie Leweling are all expected to miss this game.

Stuttgart XI: Alexander Nubel; Josha Vagnoman, Anthony Rouault, Julian Chabot, Maximiliam Mitttelstadt; Angelo Stiller, Atakan Karazor; Fabian Rieder, Enzo Millot, Chris Fuhrich; Ermedin Demirovic.

Bochum are at the bottom of the log and changes are bound to come very often until they start winning games. Myron Boadu and Bernardo might feature in this game if they recover on time. It is expected that the side that held the defending champions will continue here.

Bochum XI: Patrick Drewes; F. Passlack, T. Oermann, J. Medic, M. Wittek, G. Holtmann; Matus Bero, Anthony Losilla, Ibrahima Sissoko, Moritz Broschinski; Philipp Hofmann.

Prediction

Regardless of their current form and injury issues, Stuttgart are overwhelming favourites to take all three points in this particular match. A failure to do that will be considered an upset.

On the other hand, Bochum will be looking to build on the result they picked up against Leverkusen back at home. They are still searching for their first win of the season, so they might be forced to play big or with some risks.

Judging by history and form, Stuttgart should carry the day. By the way, getting Stuttgart tickets could be a bit tricky as the year is coming to an end.

Stuttgart 3-0 Bochum




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