Form
Stuttgart have particularly struggled against the higher-ranked teams this season, failing to pick up a single point against any of the current top seven. Yet Weinzierl, who replaced Tayfun Korkut at the helm on 9 October 2018, has settled on his first-choice line-up, making just one change to his side over the last five matches. VfB have collected five points in those games, which represents a slight upturn in form. The Swabians are sitting in 16th place in the table, three points from outright safety.
Tactics board
During his first game in charge against Borussia Dortmund (a 4-0 defeat), Weinzierl switched from a back four to a back five, and he’s stuck with that since. The central defensive trio – comprising 23-year-old World Cup winner Benjamin Pavard, 19-year-old Turk Ozan Kabak and 24-year-old Marc Oliver Kempf – is relatively young, but otherwise Weinzierl’s side has an experienced look to it. Twenty-two-year-old Santiago Ascacibar, who is suspended for this match, is likely to be replaced in midfield by captain and two-time Bundesliga winner Christian Gentner, while either Mario Gomez or Nicolas Gonzalez will spearhead the attack.
One to watch: Marc Oliver Kempf
A key piece in the VfB jigsaw, Kempf is having his best season to date. The left-footed defender came through the Eintracht academy, where he scored 19 goals in 53 Under-19 Bundesliga games before going on to make six first-team appearances for the Eagles. Kempf, who was born in Hesse, has started each of Stuttgart’s last 16 games since mid-November and has particularly impressed in the tackling department, winning an impressive 66 per cent of his challenges on the ground and in the air. No VfB player can boast better stats – not even star man Pavard.
