How do Bayern Munich and VfB Stuttgart stack up?
Unbeaten league leaders Bayern Munich host last year’s runners-up VfB Stuttgart in this weekend’s prime-time slot. Each team claimed one win when they met in 2023/24 and, with both out to claim a statement victory on Saturday, bundesliga.com looks at some of the key battles in this fixture.
Battle of the nines
There were seven goals in the two meetings between these two sides last term, so if recent history is anything to go by, Bayern and Stuttgart’s frontmen will need to be on form should they want to help their team to a result. Both Harry Kane and Ermedin Demirović have netted five league goals so far, leaving them joint-second in the goalscoring charts, while Deniz Undav is just behind on four and is expected to lead the line for the visitors in Munich.
Watch: Kane at the double in win over VfB last year - highlights
England captain Kane scored three times in this fixture in his debut Bundesliga season and, having netted 10 in nine in all competitions already this season, he will fancy his chances of scoring against a Stuttgart defence yet to keep a league clean sheet in 2024/25.
Undav, meanwhile, struck 18 times and contributed nine assists across 2023/24, prompting Stuttgart to make his loan move permanent in the summer. He has gone on to shine for the national team, too, and has scored three goals in his last two Germany outings. With Kane Bayern's obvious leading man, Stuttgart will be looking to Undav and Demirović to help them outgun their opponents on Saturday.
The young guns in midfield
This Matchday 7 meeting marks Bayern and Stuttgart’s return to league action after the October international break, in which several of the players who line up against each other at the Allianz Arena have just spent the week prior as international teammates. They had strong showings, too, as Germany followed up victory over Bosnia by beating the Netherlands at the very same venue on Monday. The VfB pairing of Undav and Jamie Leweling were match-winners, respectively, in those fixtures, the latter shining in the absence of Bayern's Jamal Musiala.
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They are not the only Germany internationals in direct competition with one another and, despite ensuring they completed collective national team goals in the week, there will be no time for pleasantries on Saturday evening.
That will be especially the case in midfield where young talents Aleksandar Pavlović and Angelo Stiller - both Bayern academy graduates - partnered each other against the Netherlands but will now go head-to-head in the centre of the park. The pair, having broken into the national team this term, will be eager to get the upper hand on their opposite number and it should make for a fascinating battle.
Master vs. Apprentice
Alexander Nübel, who joined the Swabians on loan from Bayern in the summer of 2023 will once again face off against his parent club this weekend. The 28-year-old, who is viewed as the long-term successor between the sticks at Bayern after Manuel Neuer hangs up his gloves, is set to stay at Stuttgart until the end of the 2025/26 season.
Watch: Manuel Neuer vs. Alex Nübel - master vs. apprentice?
After Neuer retired from international duty in August, Nübel went on to make his Germany debut in the win over Bosnia last week. The potential passing-of-the-gloves in Bavaria will likely be in the back of the mind of both goalkeepers, with Nübel wanting to prove himself at the home of his parent club and Neuer out to prove he both has plenty of life left in him and that he's still the best 'keeper on the planet.
In the dugouts
Two draws in their last two league matches have halted Vincent Kompany’s side’s perfect side to the season, but they remain in pole position in the Bundesliga standings and are also the league’s top-scoring side with 20 goals. Meanwhile, it has been a mixed bag of results for Sebastian Hoeneß's Stuttgart as they balance domestic and European commitments for the first time in 14 years, and VfB currently find themselves in eighth place, five points behind Bayern. While VfB haven't quite yet produced the results expected, they are the league's third-highest scorers (15 goals) and hit Borussia Dortmund for five on Matchday 4.
Watch: Bayern dominating but lack cutting edge
The German record champions will have the memories of last season fresh in their minds, as not only were they dethroned as Bundesliga champions by Bayer Leverkusen, but they also finished the season in third place after being leapfrogged by their opponents this weekend on the final day of the season.
While Hoeneß will be buoyed by that, Kompany bears no scars from last term and will be looking to go head-to-head with a fellow rising star in the coaching world.
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