Stuttgart will be aiming to make it three wins in a row in the Bundesliga when they host Mainz 05 on Sunday.
Mainz, on the other hand, have failed to win any of their last 10 league matches.
Match preview
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Stuttgart continue to defy pre-season expectations, with their 3-1 win away to Freiburg last time out in the Bundesliga taking their points tally to 40 from 20 matches. This is already seven points more than they earned in each of the previous two campaigns.
Of course, Sebastian Hoeness helped them to survival after taking over as manager in April last year, as they eventually defeated Hamburger SV 6-1 across two legs in the relegation playoffs. Yet this time around they are dreaming of qualifying for the Champions League for the first time since 2009-10.
However, their chances of winning a first major trophy since their fifth Bundesliga triumph in 2006-07 came to an end at the hands of Bayer Leverkusen in midweek, with Jonathan Tah's last minute strike sending the Bundesliga leaders through to the semi-finals of the DFB-Pokal at Stuttgart's expense.
With former Brighton & Hove Albion forward Deniz Undav scoring for fun and the club's top goalscorer this season Serhou Guirassy set to return from Africa Cup of Nations duty, though, Hoeness's side will be supremely confident of piling on their forthcoming opponents' misery on Sunday.
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Indeed, Mainz are still awaiting lift off in the Jan Siewert era; the former Huddersfield Town manager initially replaced Bo Svensson on an interim basis in November, before being given the full-time gig on a permanent basis during the winter break.
However, since beating RB Leipzig 2-0 in his first game in charge, the ensuing 10 league matches have all ended without a win for Die Nullfunfer. Five of those 10 games have ended as draws, with Mainz neither scoring or conceding more than one goal in any of them, including when drawing 1-1 against Union Berlin on Wednesday evening.
Both sides shared strikes deep into first half stoppage time, with Jonathan Burkardt firing Mainz into the lead before Robin Gosens's equaliser. It was undoubtedly a missed opportunity for Siewert's side, who would have moved three points behind Union Berlin and safety, but instead they remain three points behind FC Koln in the relegation playoff spot.
It did at least stop the rot following successive 1-0 defeats to Eintracht Frankfurt and Werder Bremen, but Mainz will require a much greater performance if they are to avoid another defeat against high-flying Stuttgart this weekend.
Team News
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Stuttgart will remain without Lilian Egloff, Dan-Axel Zagadou and Nikolas Nartey due to serious knee injuries, while Silas will almost certainly not be rushed back into action following DR Congo's 1-0 defeat to Ivory Coast in the semi-finals of AFCON on Wednesday.
Guirassy should be involved given that it will be more than one week since Guina lost to Silas's DR Congo side at the quarter-final stage, but it remains to be seen whether Hoeness throws his top goalscorer straight back in from the outset, especially with Undav scoring four goals across his past two league games.
Mainz, meanwhile, will travel without Nelson Weiper as he recovers from knee surgery, while Stefan Bell is ruled out due to heart problems. Ludovic Ajorque is also a doubt after being withdrawn against Union Berlin in midweek due to a knock.
Karim Onisiwo would likely move into a central role should Ajorque miss out, with Brajan Gruda and Marco Richter fighting for a starting berth from the left flank.
Stuttgart possible starting lineup:
Nubel; Vagnoman, Anton, Ito, Mittelstadt; Millot, Karazor, Stiller, Fuhrich; Undav, Guirassy
Mainz 05 possible starting lineup:
Zentner; Widmer, Van Den Berg, Caci, Mwene; Barreiro, Amiri, Krauss; Burkardt, Onisiwo, Gruda
We say: Stuttgart 2-1 Mainz 05
Despite struggling to pick up wins and score goals this season, Mainz have been defensively secure since Siewert took over in November, only conceding eight goals in his 11 league games in charge.
However, they will face the third highest goalscorers in the Bundesliga when they take on Stuttgart on Sunday, and we are struggling to envisage a scenario in which that run of conceding no more than one goal in a game under Siewert does not come to an end for the visitors.
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Brett Curtis
