OneFootball
·9 January 2026
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·9 January 2026
The Bundesliga ball is rolling again. In the top match on Saturday evening, Bayer Leverkusen will face VfB Stuttgart—a duel that has always provided entertainment and excitement in recent years.
Even though it’s not the classic like Bayern versus Dortmund, a real rivalry has developed between Leverkusen and Stuttgart over the past few years.
“Stuttgart is like a little derby. The cities aren’t close to each other, but somehow a rivalry has developed,” says national player Robert Andrich to 'Bild'.
Andrich also explains why the Werkself’s matches against Stuttgart have become such a special duel: “That’s because both teams have done very good work in recent years, always at a high tactical and footballing level. Neither wanted to give anything to the other. Now we’re curious to see if that will be the case again on Saturday.”

There have always been dramatic moments in recent encounters: For example, in March 2025, Leverkusen turned a 1-3 deficit in Stuttgart into a 4-3 victory. In addition, Andrich scored the equalizer to make it 2-2 against VfB shortly before the end in 2024.
Saturday evening’s top match is also a special game for Stuttgart’s sporting director Fabian Wohlgemuth: “Leverkusen is not just any opponent for us. There is a special rivalry between the two clubs, which in the last three years has led to high-quality matches. It was always close, it was always spectacular, and of course we aim to improve our record,” the VfB boss is quoted as saying by 'Bild'.
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.
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