Stuttgart will be bidding to end what has been an excellent Bundesliga campaign on a positive note when they welcome Borussia Monchengladbach to MHPArena on Saturday afternoon.
The home side are third in the table and have qualified for the group stages of next season's Champions League, but a disappointing campaign has left Monchengladbach down in 13th spot.
Match preview
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Bayer Leverkusen's stunning campaign has captured most of the attention in the Bundesliga this season, but Stuttgart have gone under the radar to enjoy a fine 2023-24, with the team securing a spot in the group stages of the 2024-25 Champions League.
The Reds have finished ninth, 16th and 16th since earning promotion back to the top flight from the second tier in 2019-20, but they have now secured a top-three finish for the first time since 2008-09.
Stuttgart are third in the table, six points ahead of fourth-placed RB Leipzig, while they are only two points behind second-placed Bayern Munich, so the runners-up spot behind the champions Leverkusen is still achievable.
Sebastian Hoeness's side would need to beat Monchengladbach and then hope that Bayern lose away to Hoffenheim to claim second, and they will enter this match off the back of successive league victories over Bayern and Augsburg.
Stuttgart boast the third-best home record in the Bundesliga this term, claiming 39 points from 16 matches, while Monchengladbach have only managed to post two away league victories in 2023-24.
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Monchengladbach have a record of seven wins, 13 draws and 13 defeats from their 33 league matches this season, which has left them down in 13th spot on 34 points.
Gerardo Seoane's side can actually finish as low as 15th on the final matchday, while 12th is still open, but they would need to win here and then hope Wolfsburg lose to Mainz 05; a relatively big swing in goal difference would also need to occur for that to become possible.
Die Fohlen will enter this match off the back of three straight draws, sharing the points with Union Berlin, Werder Bremen and Eintracht Frankfurt.
Monchengladbach have not been victorious in Germany's top flight since a 3-1 success over Wolfsburg at the start of April, and they have won just one of their last 10 Bundesliga fixtures.
The five-time German champions will be looking to do a league double over Stuttgart, though, having recorded a 3-1 victory when the two teams locked horns for the reverse fixture earlier this season.
Team News
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Stuttgart will definitely be without the services of three players through injury on Saturday, with Josha Vagnoman, Samuele di Benedetto and Dan-Axel Zagadou unavailable for selection.
Roberto Massimo, Lilian Egloff and Nikolas Nartey were also missing against Augsburg last time out and could again be absent for the team's final match of the season.
Serhou Guirassy has scored 26 Bundesliga goals during an excellent campaign, and he could potentially be playing for Stuttgart for the final time, with a number of clubs believed to be interested in the striker.
As for Monchengladbach, Shio Fukuda, Simon Walde, Maximilian Wober, Franck Honorat and Grant-Leon Ranos will miss the team's final match of the season.
Head coach Seoane is likely to select close to the same XI that took to the field for the first whistle against Frankfurt last time out, but Luca Netz is set to be introduced into the side due to Honorat's injury.
Robin Hack is the team's leading goalscorer in the Bundesliga this season with 10, and he is again expected to be joined in the final third of the field by seven-goal Alassane Plea.
Stuttgart possible starting lineup:
Nubel; Stergiou, Anton, Ito, Mittelstadt; Leweling, Millot, Stiller, Fuhrich; Guirassy, Undav
Borussia Monchengladbach possible starting lineup:
Omlin; Friedrich, Itakura, Elvedi; Netz, Reitz, Weigl, Kone, Scally; Plea, Hack
We say: Stuttgart 2-0 Borussia Monchengladbach
Stuttgart are eyeing a 13th home Bundesliga win of the season on Saturday, and we are fully expecting that to occur, with Monchengladbach struggling on their travels his term, but the result is unlikely to be enough to finish above Bayern in second position.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
