By last Saturday at the latest, VfB Stuttgart had really made their mark in the Bundesliga. After an impressive, albeit pointless, performance in the opening fixture against SC Freiburg (2-3), the Swabians secured their first points since returning to the top-flight at FSV Mainz 05 – and in style too! 4-1 to VfB in the end in spite of going behind early on. A genuine statement from the newly promoted club. At the same time: The team from the capital of Baden-Württemberg are not a classic newly promoted side. Despite being relegated twice in the last four years, the 2007 champions of Germany are an inherent part of the Bundesliga and want to confirm that status in the future. “We feel we’ve arrived in the league with that win,” declared head coach Pellegrino Matarazzo, who took over the helm at VfB at the turn of the year. “That gives us stability and confidence. If we perform to our ability then we will be in a position to cause problems for lots of teams.”
There was slightly bad news for VfB at the end of the game in Mainz: Defender Pascal Stenzel was shown a second yellow card in added time and is now suspended for the match against Bayer 04. The focus of the Swabians is now on Konstantinos Mavropanos: The Greek central defender, on loan from Arsenal and at FC Nürnberg for the second half of the last second division, joined VfB in the summer but has yet to play for Stuttgart due to a groin problem. Hope rests on the powerful defender making his debut against Werkself. If Mavropanos is not available then the recently injured Atakan Karazor or Marcin Kaminski may fill the final place in the back three alongside Marc-Oliver Kempf and new signing Waldemar Anton.
Coach Matarazzo is missing two of his most dangerous strikers up front: For loan returnee Erik Thommy, the game against Bayer 04 comes too early after a broken elbow and forward Nicolás González is ruled out with a muscle injury. The latter’s absence is a particular problem as the Argentinian was by far the top scorer for VfB in last season’s second division campaign with 14 goals.
Even without González and Thommy, the VfB attack has been firing on all cylinders to date. Only record champions Bayern plus league leaders Hoffenheim have scored more goals than Stuttgart (six) on the first two matchdays – and that despite a rather poor conversion rate on the first matchday against Freiburg. The Swabians can count on a front line made up of players with different qualities that have certainly been extended: the lightning performances of the tricky Silas Wamangituka, the clever passes from former Leverkusen player Gonzalo Castro, long-range shots and set-pieces from playmaker Daniel Didavi, the physical presence and heading ability of the two-metre tall central striker Kalajdzic plus the carefree approach of the two youngsters Mateo Klimowicz and Roberto Massimo. In addition, Matarazzo has been able to rely to a great extent on his promotion-winning team – and they work together brilliantly. “We’re a great group and the team spirit is fantastic,” Didavi said recently.
VfB cannot be looking to come from behind every week. Against Freiburg, the three-goal deficit proved to be too much in the end to get a result despite a fantastic final effort late on. And Stuttgart also went behind against Mainz. After the Freiburg game, Matarazzo sounded a warning: “We were rather naive in defence. We weren’t alert enough.” And then: The first attack for Mainz and it goes in. Again it was relatively simple. In the coming weeks, Stuttgart have to be alert in defence, above all – particularly in the opening stages.
There is no doubt that VfB definitely have the quality to do well in the league. Above all, staying up so the club can again secure a foothold in the top flight. If Thommy and González can raise the quality of the attack after their return from injury and the defence be more solid with Mavropanos providing stability, then nothing should stand in the way of that target.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen will to have manage without forward Eliesse Ben Seghir. The Morocco international suffered a ligament injury in his left ankle before the AFCON final defeat against Senegal (0-1 a.e.t.).
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The VBL Club Championship 2025/26 continues. Tonight, 27 January (live on Twitch and on the Bayer 04 app from 18:00 CET), the Leverkusen eSports team will play the remaining three matches in the online preliminary round of Showdown Four. They are up against FC Kaiserslautern, SC Freiburg and the current club champions and Showdown Three winners RB Leipzig, with whom Bayer 04, club runners-up and Showdown One winners, shared some memorable moments, especially last year. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen have signed Swiss goalkeeper Jonas Omlin from Borussia Mönchengladbach. The 32-year-old joins the Werkself from the Lower Rhine Bundesliga club on loan to the end of the current season. This is the reaction of Bayer 04 to the injury to first choice keeper Mark Flekken, who faces a long spell on the sidelines.
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Welcome to Leverkusen, Jonas Omlin. Bayer 04 have signed the 32-year-old goalkeeper on loan from Bundesliga side Borussia Mönchengladbach until the end of the season. Managing director sport Simon Rolfes described the Swiss shot stopper, signed by the Werkself in reaction to the long-term absence of first choice keeper Mark Flekken, as an "internationally experienced keeper." Bayer04.de takes a closer look at the new signing, who will wear the number 18 jersey.
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Lucas Vázquez was the hero in Saturday's 1-0 home win against Werder Bremen, when the Spaniard scored his first Bundesliga goal to secure an important victory for Leverkusen. The 34-year-old right-sided recently met up with the Werkself magazine for an interview in the Düsseldorf restaurant Casa Galicia after the first few months of settling in to his new home in Germany. Over tapas, the five-time Champions League winner, who left Real Madrid in the summer after 18 years to continue his career at Bayer 04, spoke about his career to date, the new challenge in Leverkusen and the importance of family - and he paid a big compliment to the fans of his new club.
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