How do Frankfurt and Stuttgart stack up? | OneFootball

Eintracht Frankfurt vs. Stuttgart: How do they stack up?

Despite their respective recent dips in form, both sides still have their eyes on playing European football next season and they each have young, exciting squads capable of achieving that. bundesliga.com looks at how the two teams compare ahead of an intriguing Matchday 27 clash ...

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The numbers behind the superb careers of Klaus Toppmöller and Dieter Hoeneß are more than impressive with a combined 838 professional games adding to five Bundesliga titles and three DFB Cups for the latter. The senior footballing figures are now associated with two of Germany’s brightest young coaches, namely Dino Toppmöller and Sebastian Hoeneß.

Just as their fathers shared the field in those early Bundesliga years, Dino and Sebastian will once again share the touchline as their two sides, Eintracht Frankfurt and Stuttgart, go head to head on Matchday 27.

Having both coached in the youth ranks of RB Leipzig and Bayern Munich, Toppmöller and Hoeneß now lead two of the league’s most exciting sides as head coaches, with both of them having their eyes firmly set on European football next season. It’s a challenge both have become accustomed to, with Frankfurt competing in the UEFA Europa League this season and Stuttgart playing UEFA Champions League football earlier in the campaign. As things stand in Germany's top flight, Frankfurt sit in fourth, level on points with third placed Mainz, while Stuttgart are five points off a European place in 10th.

Their respective end-of-season sprints toward the finish line are being led by two young, eye-catching frontlines including two of the league’s top 10 goalscorers in Hugo Ekitiké and Ermedin Demirović. Both are in their first full seasons with their respective clubs, but have wasted no time in making their names known as two of the Bundesliga’s best goal-getters.

Ekitiké currently has 13 goals, while Demirović lies on 10 at the moment. The young Frenchman has flourished at the Deutsche Bank Park since initially arriving on loan from Paris Saint-Germain at the end of last season, and has almost carried the goalscoring burden alone for the Eagles since January, when his partner in crime Omar Marmoush departed for Manchester City.

Likewise, Demirović has built on a brilliant 2023/24 campaign with Augsburg where he registered 24 goals and assists in 33 games, with 10 goals so far this season, including important point-winners against Werder Bremen (2-2) and Hoffenheim (1-1).

However, while Ekitiké and Frankfurt continue to come to terms with the loss of one of the league’s top scorers, Stuttgart have the luxury of choosing between Nick Woltemade, Deniz Undav and El Bilal Touré to partner their Bosnian international. Germany international Undav continues to be a fan favourite following his 18-goal haul last season, while Woltemade and Touré have equally proven themselves to be two incredibly talented young strikers.

Watch: Hugo Ekitiké on fire in the Bundesliga

Woltemade, especially, has grown into one of Germany’s most exciting young forwards this season, scoring nine league goals including a dazzling solo effort against Wolfsburg.

Yet, like any good team, the foundation for a good attack is a good defence. Both teams' goalkeepers, Kevin Trapp and Alexander Nübel (76), rank within the top 10 for shots saved so far this season, Trapp with 78 saves to Nübel's 76. Combined, they have over 400 Bundesliga appearances and have been integral parts of their sides’ recent successes; Trapp was in between the sticks throughout Frankfurt’s Europa League victory in 2022, while Nübel - on loan from Bayern Munich - was ever-present during Stuttgart’s second place finish last season.

Watch: Sky's the limit for Alexander Nübel

The similarities between Saturday's opponents don’t end there, with neither team being too afraid to trust the next generation of potential Bundesliga stars. This season has seen Nathaniel Brown (21), Can Uzun (19) and Nnamdi Collins (21) come to the fore at Frankfurt, with Brown and Collins being touted for call-ups to the senior Germany side in the near future, and Turkey international Uzun staking his claim to be a regular starter with key goals, such as his late equaliser against Wolfsburg on Matchday 20.

For Stuttgart, the aforementioned Woltemade (23) continues to impress in attack, as do Angelo Stiller (23) and Enzo Millot (22) in midfield, both of whom have become full internationals for Germany and France since last season. The recently acquired Finn Jeltsch (18), a former teammate of Brown and Uzun at Nuremberg, has also gained plaudits since joining and has completed 90 minutes in each of the last three games that he’s been available for.

Watch: The best of Can Uzun

Looking at recent form, Champions League chasing Frankfurt have stumbled of late, losing three of their last four and conceding 11 goals. In that same period, Stuttgart have picked up just two points and let a 3-2 lead slip in the final minutes of their most recent game against Bayer Leverkusen, which ended in a crushing 4-3 loss. Last season saw Hoeneß’s men do the double over Frankfurt, who also won this season’s first encounter thanks to goals from Ekitiké, Brown and Marmoush.

Watch: Stuttgart 2-3 Eintracht Frankfurt - highlights

As a consequence of their recent travails, both sides will be looking to Matchday 27 to provide them with a morale boosting three points that could push either of team that step closer to playing on the European stage again next season.

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