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VfB Stuttgart vs. Union Berlin
At the conclusion of Matchday 9 of the Bundesliga, VfB Stuttgart will host surprise league leaders Union Berlin on Sunday evening, but they will most likely no longer enter the game as leaders at the time of kick-off at 19:30. Even if second-placed Freiburg slip up at Berlin’s Olympiastadion, the winner of the German classic (click here for Bayern vs Dortmund betting tips) will temporarily overtake the Berliners. TSG Hoffenheim and Eintracht Frankfurt would only have a chance at first place if they win by a landslide.
Nevertheless, Union has the defence of the top spot in its own hands with a win against Stuttgart. It is impressive how quickly the club from the east of Berlin has developed in recent years. It all started with the relegation matches after the 2018/19 season, in which a 2:2 and a 0:0 against the upcoming opponents from Stuttgart were enough for promotion. On Sunday, Berlin return for the third time to the place where they last played a match as a second-division team.
Stuttgart – Union Info:
– Date & Time: 09.10.2022, 19:30 hrs.
– Venue: Mercedes-Benz Arena (Stuttgart)
– Competition: Bundesliga, Matchday 9
– TV broadcast: DAZN
Stuttgart Form & Balance Check
VfB Stuttgart continue to wait for their first real sense of achievement this season. After five draws from the first six games, one had the impression that it was actually only a matter of time before Pellegrino Materazzo’s team could finally win a close game. In recent weeks, however, the trend has been downward. After the third draw in a row at FC Bayern (2:2), VfB lost both on the penultimate matchday against Eintracht Frankfurt (1:3) and last weekend at VfL Wolfsburg (2:3).
Unfortunate defeat in Wolfsburg
The Swabians will be particularly annoyed about the defeat in Wolfsburg. Although VfB were not clearly superior, they were the more active team overall and deserved at least the next draw. But at the end of the day, football is a results sport and the fact is that VfB Stuttgart are still without a win after eight matchdays for the first time ever in the Bundesliga.
In the run-up to the match, it is highly doubtful that the long-awaited first win will come against the current league leaders. Of the current Bundesliga teams, Stuttgart have only ever won against Union Berlin (three draws, one defeat) and RB Leipzig (two draws, seven defeats). In addition, VfB have only won one of their last 18 duels with a current Bundesliga leader.
Stuttgart facts & analysis
– 5 points from 8 games
– Last lost 2:3 in Wolfsburg
– Winless for the first time in Bundesliga history after 8 matchdays
Union Form & Balance Check
There is almost nothing positive to report about 1. FC Union Berlin this season. In spite of the recent defeat against Eintracht Frankfurt (0:2), the team is still surprisingly leading the Bundesliga table, and in the Europa League, too, they finally scored their first success in Malmö last Thursday.
Despite being outnumbered for 45 minutes and having only 28% of the ball in the end, the Berliners scored their first three points through a counterattack in the 68th minute, in classic Union style. Unfortunately, the match was overshadowed by fan riots that led to several interruptions. Whether the knot has really broken internationally and Union still has a chance of advancing will only be seen in the coming weeks.
VfB four years younger on average
But first the focus is back on the Bundesliga, where the Berliners are desperate to score again after their first defeat of the season in Frankfurt. The concentrated experience of the Eisernen could play an important role, especially against the young VfB team. With Stuttgart and Union, the lowest (23.9) and second highest (28) average age in the Bundesliga will meet on Sunday.
Union facts & analysis
– 17 points from 8 games
– Last lost 0:2 in Frankfurt
– Never scored more than 2 goals in last 7 competitive matches
Predicted line-up – last update on 7 October 2022
For VfB, Tiago Tomas, Lilian Egloff and Nikolas Nartey could also be in the starting eleven, transfer candidates would be Atakan Karazor or Naouirou Ahamada. Josha Vagnoman and Jordan Meyer are missing due to injury.
Andras Schäfer was sent off in the Europa League but can still play in the league against Stuttgart and probably will. With Jannik Haberer and Genki Haraguchi, however, there are two good alternatives for the central positions. In central defence, Danilo Doekhi and Timo Baumgartl are further options.
Stuttgart – Union Direct comparison & Statistics
Curiously, six of the eight meetings ended in a draw. Last season, the teams drew 1-1 twice, with Union winning the previous encounter 2-1 in front of their home crowd. The only VfB win came in the 2. Bundesliga.
– The average of goals scored in a clash between VfB Stuttgart and Union Berlin is 2.2.
– A year ago, Union Berlin was in 5th position in the table with 15 points. Currently they are in position 1 (17).
– Did you know that Union Berlin scores 33% of its goals between the 31-45 minute?
– The most common result between VfB Stuttgart and Union Berlin is 1-1. 3 matches have ended like this:
