VfB Stuttgart vs. Bayern Munich preview: Hosts look to cause upset in Südderby | OneFootball

VfB Stuttgart

After their local rivals Karlsruhe, it doesn't get much bigger for Stuttgart than picking up three points against Bayern Munich. 

The two southern giants in the Bundesliga meet, having both progressed in the DFB-Pokal in midweek, with VfB in particular looking to get back to winning ways in the league after a 2-1 loss against Hamburg last Sunday.

Sebastian Hoeneß's side put in a professional performance against VfL Bochum on Wednesday evening, booking their place in the DFB-Pokal quarter-finals after lifting the cup in Berlin back in May. 

Stuttgart came out on the wrong side of a 2-1 scoreline in this fixture in August, with the sides meeting in the Franz Beckenbauer Supercup. 

Though fans will fondly remember their 3-1 win against Der Rekordmeister at the end of the 2023/24 term, allowing Die Schwaben to leapfrog Bayern a week later on the final day, seeing them finish above their southern rivals for the first time since their Bundesliga win in 2007.

Team News

Hoeneß is expecting Justin Diehl and Yannik Keitel to return to the fold before the winter break in just over two weeks, while Luca Jaquez, Dan-Axel Zagadou and Ermedin Demirovic will have to wait until the new year. 

Predicted lineup - 3-4-2-1: Nübel - Jeltsch, Chabot, Hendriks - Assignon, Chema, Stiller, Mittelstädt - El Khannouss, Leweling - Undav

Bayern Munich

Der Rekordmeister have been simply scintillating across all competitions this term, with their one defeat coming against Arsenal in the Champions League. 

Like Stuttgart, Bayern secured their Pokal passage on Wednesday, with Vincent Kompany's men edging out Union Berlin in Köpenick - winning 3-2 on the night.

In the Bundesliga, they have been operating in a different stratosphere in comparison to the rest of the pack, with an eight-point gap to second-place RB Leipzig after 12 matches, and a 12-point lead over Saturday's opponents. 

Though Bayern will be wary of Stuttgart, with the fixture one of the first to notice when the schedule is revealed. 

Team News

Both Jamal Musiala and Alphonso Davies are continuing to work on their recoveries and are Bayern's only concerns heading into the weekend. Tom Bischof could start at left-back once again after starring in the role across recent weeks.

Predicted lineup - 4-2-3-1: Neuer - Laimer, Upamecano, Tah, Bischof - Kimmich, Goretzka - Olise, Gnabry, Diaz - Kane