Our next opponents: VfB Stuttgart profile

Position

Home again at last– these four words probably best describe the mood at VfB ahead of the game against the Werkself. Stuttgart have been on the road for the last two matches with scant reward as is typical of the season to date. At Hannover they did at least pick up the first away point  in the current campaign but the side from the capital of Baden-Württemberg left Werder Bremen empty-handed on Saturday. the Swabians have earned just one point from eight games on the road. In stark contrast to the record in front of their home fans: Most teams visiting the Mercedes-Benz Arena have failed to pick up points with the exception of FC Augsburg who earned a 0-0 draw on matchday six. If VfB beat Bayer 04 then they would draw level with league leaders Bayern Munich in a home results table. However, much more important for Stuttgart:  The gap to the drop zone should be extended as far as possible after they came straight up last term. VfB are currently 13th in the table on 17 points (with 16 from home games).

personnel

The second Bundesliga relegation in the club's history in 2016 left lasting marks on the big club from the south-west of Germany. Timo Baumgartl (left in picture), Emiliano Insúa, Daniel Ginczek and Christian Gentner (centre in picture) are four players in the current squad who were relegated to the second tier 18 months ago. Hannes Wolf (second right in picture), appointed head coach after relegation, primarily opts for young and underexposed talents – with success. VfB returned to the top-flight as second division champions. With the target of establishing the club in the first division, the new sporting director Michael Reschke (formerly at Bayer 04 and Bayern Munich) brought in experience in the summer. Four Germany internationals Ron-Robert Zieler, Holger Badstuber, Dennis Aogo and returnee Andreas Beck together with a massive number of Bundesliga appearances between them. Along with the captain Gentner, the quartet made a considerable contribution to stabilising the Stuttgart defence and they should be able to help younger players take the next step in their careers. 

ProblemS

VfB have found it particularly difficult to play structured attacking football away from home. Hannes Wolf does have players on the flanks who are strong on the break such as Chadrac Akolo and Josip Brekalo. The Stuttgart squad does lack a proven creative player to supply them after the departure of Daniel Didavi and Alexandru Maxim. That has also affected central striker Simon Terodde (right in picture), who was nevertheless top scorer in the second division two seasons in succession, with only two goals to his credit in the current campaign. His highly talented, but susceptible to injury, fellow striker Daniel Ginczek misses the game against the Werkself with a muscle injury as does the long-term absentee on the wing Carlos Mané – two players Wolf really misses up front.

potential

After many chaotic and, in part, catastrophic seasons on the pitch, VfB appear to be on the up again. At last Sunday's AGM, the club announced a profit of €15 million in the financial year 2016. An important reason for that it's probably one of the great achievements of the Swabians: excellent youth work. Home-grown players Antonio Rüdiger and Timo Werner have recently brought in great profits from bigger clubs – as was the case in recent years with Germany team-mates Mario Gomez, Sami Khedira, Joshua Kimmich and Bayer 04 keeper Bernd Leno. Accordingly, it was no surprise an announcement was made at the general meeting regarding contract extensions for Timo Baumgartl and Berkay Özcan, – two up-and-coming talents from the VfB youth set-up, who recently featured in the first team. If Stuttgart stick to this approach then the club should become established in the Bundesliga once again without having to fight relegation year after year. Although that may also initially mean limited improvement after many difficult years.

prediction

The five-time German champions would be both relieved and happy if the team would not have to worry about staying up right to the last game of the season as has often been the case in recent years. If the Mercedes-Benz Arena remains a fortress in the second half of the season and the defence maintains its solidity then the newcomers should be well on course  to stay up. Finishing above mid-table appears to be less realistic given the limited options on the pitch – but nobody at Stuttgart wants to start with exaggerated targets.