Borussia Dortmund vs Stuttgart

Stuttgart will look to avoid losing three consecutive Bundesliga games for the first time since February 2023 when they meet Borussia Dortmund at Signal Iduna Park.

Fresh off winning only their second away league game this season at Heidenheim last weekend, Borussia Dortmund return to Signal Iduna Park seeking a third consecutive win in all competitions for the first time in 2024/25. New manager Niko Kovac has plenty on his plate, with ‘Die Borussen’ going 12 consecutive matches without a clean sheet for the first time in 20 years. Stuttgart’s upcoming visit won’t make it easy on them, considering they’ve lost the last four H2Hs, including a thumping 5-1 defeat in September’s reverse fixture. Avenging that fiasco has become imperative for Dortmund, considering they commence this round in the Bundesliga’s lower reaches, albeit four points off the coveted fourth place. Worryingly, before a 3-1 win against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League, Dortmund had gone winless in five consecutive home outings across all competitions (D3, L2).

Visiting Stuttgart pulled off a narrow 1-0 home triumph against Augsburg in midweek DFB-Pokal action to snap a dismal three-game losing streak, during which they conceded 2+ goals in each loss. However, ‘Die Schwaben’ had fared outstandingly on the road before slumping to a 2-0 loss to Mainz last time out, winning four away games in succession while netting precisely three goals in three! Against this backdrop, Stuttgart’s disappointing traveling record against teams starting the round 11th or higher calls for caution (W1, D3, L3). Manager Sebastian Hoeness should be confident about an immediate improvement after beating his Dortmund counterpart, Kovac, in both managerial H2Hs.