The 4-1 win in Leverkusen has given VfB Stuttgart a noticeable boost, and it is with this momentum that they will enter a direct race for European places against Eintracht Frankfurt on the 17th matchday of the Bundesliga on Tuesday, January 13, 2026, at the MHPArena. Stuttgart is in fifth place with 29 points, Frankfurt follows in seventh with 26 points; it’s close in the chasing pack, and the betting market is leaning quite clearly toward the home team. In Leverkusen, Leweling and Undav were the standouts, while Frankfurt looked entertaining and vulnerable at the same time in their 3-3 draw with Dortmund, with Dahoud’s late goal saving a point. The last match in March 2025 ended 1-0 in Frankfurt’s favor, and they also won 3-2 in the DFB Cup semi-final in 2023. Hoeneß is likely to rely on Leweling and Undav again, Demirovic is getting closer to a comeback, and the club has also sent a signal by rejecting a big offer for Leweling.
- Venue: MHPArena, Stuttgart
- Date and time: January 13, 2026, 6:30 p.m.
- Competition: Bundesliga (matchday 17)
Even though Stuttgart are clear favorites at home with odds of 1.8, betting on Stuttgart to win remains the obvious choice. The 4-0 lead at halftime in Leverkusen and Leweling and Undav in the best eleven of the matchday are clear indicators. Nevertheless, Frankfurt’s wild 3-3 draw against Dortmund should not be dismissed. With attackers like Ebnoutalib and new signing Kalimuendo, they have the firepower to make an impact, even without Burkardt.
Stuttgart form & record check
Stuttgart came out of the winter break with a bang with a 4-1 win in Leverkusen, a statement not only in terms of the result but also in terms of attitude. Leweling punished the space twice after winning the ball, Undav was the sharp link player, and Mittelstädt kept his cool from the spot. Before that, the 0-0 draw at home against Hoffenheim felt like a missed opportunity because there was too little penetration against a deep-lying defense. Further back, the 4-0 win in Bremen showed the best of Hoeneß’s team: quick ball recovery, vertical passing, and consistent finishing. The Europa League victory against Maccabi Tel Aviv, 4-1, confirmed the same picture: Stuttgart can very quickly convert pressure into goals. The blemish is the 0-5 defeat against Bayern, when the structure collapsed as soon as the first line was outplayed and the back line was repeatedly exposed. In the Bundesliga, they are in fifth place with 29 points, level on points with Leverkusen and only two points ahead of Hoffenheim, so there is not much room for error. Across all competitions, four of their last five games have seen more than 3.5 goals, a scoring rate of 80%, which smacks of considerable fluctuation. With El Khannouss missing due to international duty and options at the back such as Zagadou and Jaquez out, Stuttgart’s potential remains high. The only question is whether the next step will be to add more control.
Hoeneß is likely to stick with Stuttgart’s usual 4-2-3-1 formation. In the forecast, Nübel is in goal, with Vagnoman, Chabot, Hendriks, and Mittelstädt forming the back four. Karazor and Stiller are expected to play as double pivots, combining ball winning and tempo control. In front of them, Leweling and Führich will provide verticality, with Nartey as the central link player behind Undav. This is still only an expected starting eleven, but the selection is clearly influenced by absences. El Khannouss is away with the national team, Jaquez and Zagadou are injured, and Tomás and Jovanovic are also missing. In addition, several players are not eligible to play in Europa League matches, including Demirovic, Al Dakhil, Stergiou, Stenzel, Diehl, Darvich, and Drljaca. This narrows the rotation and makes the core of the regulars all the more important.
Frankfurt form & record check
Frankfurt travels to Stuttgart in seventh place with 26 points, leaving little room for error. They are just one point behind Hoffenheim above them and only three points ahead of Freiburg below them, so every point dropped counts double. Their form in the league has been more inconsistent than alarming, but the message is clear: things rarely run smoothly over long periods. The restart captured this well, with a wild 3-3 draw at home against Dortmund, played with power and attitude, but also with the familiar difficulty of closing out games. Before that, there was a solid 1-1 draw in Hamburg, but without the final push to score, followed by a hard-fought 1-0 win against Augsburg. The overall picture also includes the 1-2 defeat in Barcelona and the painful 6-0 in Leipzig, results that further dented confidence. A pattern has emerged in recent games, with Frankfurt usually scoring but conceding almost as reliably, which keeps games open and forces Toppmöller’s team into repair mode time and again. Uzun’s penalty, Ebnoutalib’s influence, and Dahoud’s late goal against Dortmund were encouraging, and Kalimuendo brings a new profile up front. Nevertheless, the absences of Burkardt, Batshuayi, and Bahoya reduce the depth in attack, while Baum and Chandler limit the options in defense.
Toppmöller is likely to stick with his familiar 3-4-2-1 formation, with Santos behind a back three of Kristensen, Koch, and Theate. Doan and Brown will provide width and initiate the first counter-press, while Skhiri and Larsson will combine ball wins with quick passes forward. In front of them, Götze and Uzun could rotate between the lines to feed Ebnoutalib. The bigger question concerns the bench, as Bahoya is ill and both Burkardt and Batshuayi remain sidelined, making Ebnoutalib the clearest fixture. Kalimuendo has only just arrived and could serve as a substitute to provide momentum rather than starting from the outset. On the wings, the absences of Baum and Chandler thin out the options, so Kosugi or Buta are plausible cover options if substitutions are needed.
Stuttgart – Frankfurt Head-to-head comparison & statistics
Frankfurt has the slight edge in the last five meetings, with three wins to Stuttgart’s two and no draws. The most recent encounter in March 2025 was a close 1-0 win for Frankfurt, after they had won 3-2 away in 2024. Stuttgart’s best response came in 2024 with a 3-0 home win, but overall, the away team has won three of the five games. The fact that there were no draws was a pretty defining feature. When these two meet, goals tend to be scored. Four of the five games went over 2.5 goals and four also went over 1.5, a streak of high totals that only ended with the 1-0 win in March 2025. Both teams scored in three of the five games, but there were still shutouts, as evidenced by Stuttgart’s 3-0 win in 2024 and Frankfurt’s most recent shutout. Four of the five encounters were decided by a one-goal margin. Interestingly, between 2023 and 2024, Stuttgart had a run of three games against Frankfurt in which they won the first half, and in those three games, they also scored before the break. Frankfurt still found ways to get the better of their opponents, including a 3-2 win in the 2023 DFB Cup semifinal. Looking ahead to the next chapter, Stuttgart will be without Zagadou and Jaquez, while Frankfurt will have to do without Burkardt and Batshuayi.
