Bundesliga high-flyers Stuttgart will be bidding to book their spot in the third round of the DFB-Pokal when they take on fellow top-flight outfit Union Berlin on Tuesday night.
These two sides met on October 21 in the Bundesliga, with Stuttgart recording a 3-0 victory, and the clubs have had contrasting fortunes in the opening months of the 2023-24 campaign.
Match preview
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Stuttgart have finished ninth, 16th and 16th in the Bundesliga since returning to the top level in 2020, but it has been a very positive start to this season for the club, with a total of 21 points from nine league matches leaving them in third position in the Bundesliga table.
The Reds have won seven times in the league this term, but they will enter Tuesday's cup contest off the back of a defeat, going down 3-2 at home to Hoffenheim on Saturday.
Sebastian Hoeness's side will be bidding to bounce back quickly in their second DFB-Pokal fixture of the campaign, beating Balingen 4-0 in the previous round to advance.
Stuttgart will certainly view the league as their main priority this season, but they have actually won the German Cup on three occasions, with their last success coming in 1996-97, while the team have made another three finals, including in 2012-13, losing to Bayern Munich.
As mentioned, these two teams met on October 21 in the Bundesliga, with Stuttgart recording a 3-0 victory, and the hosts will again be the favourites here due to Union Berlin's serious struggles this term.
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Union Berlin enjoyed an impressive 2022-23 season, finishing fourth in the Bundesliga, which saw them qualify for the group stage of the Champions League for the first time in their history.
However, it has been a hugely difficult start to the campaign for the club, who are on a run of 10 straight defeats in all competitions, including a 2-0 reverse at Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga on Saturday.
Urs Fischer's side are 15th in the Bundesliga table, only picking up six points from their nine matches, while they have lost their opening three Champions League group-stage fixtures to Real Madrid, Braga and Napoli.
Union Berlin actually started the season with three straight wins, including a 4-0 victory over Astoria Walldorf in the last round of the DFB-Pokal, but they have not triumphed since the end of August, and the fixtures are not exactly getting easier in the coming weeks.
Indeed, Die Eisernen, who were runners-up in the German Cup in 2001, will take on Eintracht Frankfurt, Napoli and Bayer Leverkusen in their next three matches before the November international break.
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Team News
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Stuttgart will be missing three players through injury for Tuesday's fixture, with Serhou Guirassy, Fabian Bredlow and Josha Vagnoman on the sidelines.
Head coach Hoeness will undoubtedly make changes to the side that started in the league on Saturday, with Dan-Axel Zagadou, Jamie Leweling, Jovan Milosevic and Lilian Egloff among those expected to come in.
There is also likely to be a change between the sticks, with Florian Schock set to feature from the first whistle, but Deniz Undav could continue in the final third of the field.
Union Berlin, meanwhile, will be without Rani Khedira following his red card against Werder Bremen in the league on Saturday.
David Datro Fofana will also again miss out, as the on-loan Chelsea forward was suspended for one week by his club for refusing to shake his manager's hand after being substituted against Napoli in the Champions League.
The strugglers are also missing three players through injury for the cup fixture, with Danilho Doekhi, Josip Juranovic and Andras Schafter unavailable for selection on Tuesday night.
Stuttgart possible starting lineup:
Schock; Stenzel, Zagadou, Anton, Ito; Leweling, Stiller; Egloff, Millot, Milosevic; Undav
Union Berlin possible starting lineup:
Schwolow; Bonucci, Knoche, Leite; Trimmel, Laidouni, Aaronson, Kral, Gosens; Kaufmann, Hollerbach
We say: Stuttgart 2-1 Union Berlin
Both managers will rest important players for this match, so it is difficult to know exactly what to expect, but Union Berlin's form is so disappointing. Stuttgart will enter this game off the back of a defeat, but we are backing them to advance to the next round of the German Cup courtesy of a narrow success.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.