Away side Stuttgart will hope to bounce back from their defeat against Freiburg in their opening game of the Bundesliga season with a victory against Preussen Munster at Preussen-Stadion on Tuesday in the first round of the DFB-Pokal.

The home team are currently 15th in the 2. Bundesliga with one point from three games, while the visitors are second last in 17th place after just one top-flight matchweek.

Match preview

VfB Stuttgart's Waldemar Anton on June 5, 2024 © Reuters

The hosts were promoted from the third tier of German football at the end of 2023-24 after they finished second, but they lost 3-1 on August 4 against Greuther Furth in their opening game of the 2024-25 2. Bundesliga campaign.

Though Die Adler earned a good point after they drew 0-0 against promotion candidates Hannover 96 on August 11, they lost 1-0 against Kaiserslautern on August 24 despite producing more xG than their opponents and having 15 shots.

Boss Sascha Hildmann has been in charge since December 2019, and has an overall record of 100 wins, 39 draws and 34 defeats.

Last term, Preussen Munster were eliminated from the DFB-Pokal in the first round after losing 4-0 against Bayern Munich on September 26.

Preussen Munster have only progressed from three of their 11 matches in the competition, the most recent being a 2-0 win against Wolfsburg in August 2021.

Sascha Hildmann of Preussen Munster, on May 12, 2024 [on August 25, 2024] © Imago

Opponents Stuttgart come into the clash having lost 3-1 against Freiburg on August 24 despite taking the lead in the second minute.

Boss Sebastian Hoeness will be particularly concerned that his side had 67% possession but only produced nine shots in comparison to Freiburg's 16.

Prior to that game, Die Roten were defeated on penalties by Bayer Leverkusen in the German Super Cup final on August 17.

To make matters worse, Leverkusen had been reduced to 10 men following Martin Terrier's dismissal in the 37th minute, and yet Stuttgart still failed to take advantage.

Stuttgart qualified for the Champions League after finishing second in the Bundesliga last term, and they were knocked out of the DFB-Pokal after losing in the quarter-final against Bayer Leverkusen on February 6.

In this competition, Die Roten have won seven of their last nine matches, as well as six of their last seven away games.

Preussen Munster form (all competitions):

Stuttgart form (all competitions):

Team News

Sebastian Hoeness in the BayArena in Leverkusen during the German Super Cup final on August 17, 2024 [on August 22, 2024] © Imago

Preussen Munster could name a similar starting XI to the one that narrowly lost against Kaiserslautern.

Expect goalkeeper Johannes Schenk to be shielded by defenders Jano ter Horst, Niko Koulis, Lukas Frenkert and Mikkel Kirkeskov.

As for the visitors, they have a number of absentees, including defenders Anthony Rouault, Leonidas Stergiou, Josha Vagnoman, and Dan-Axel Zagadou.

Elsewhere, Stuttgart will also be without forward Luca Raimund and midfielder Nikolas Nartey.

Preussen Munster possible starting lineup:
Schenk; Ter Horst, Koulis, Frenkert, Kirkeskov; Mees, Hendrix, Preissinger, Lorenz; Amenyido, Grodowski

Stuttgart possible starting lineup:
Nubel; Chase, Stiller, Chabot, Kratzig; Millot, Karazor; Leweling, Rieder, Woltemade; Demirovic

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We say: Preussen Munster 1-4 Stuttgart

Although Stuttgart have been disappointing in their opening two games of the 2024-25 season, they should be confident of victory given Preussen Munster are a lower division side.

It would not be surprising if the visitors took a sizeable lead before the hosts scored a consolation goal.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.