Stuttgart – Dortmund

Stuttgart and Borussia Dortmund should be expected to play effective football

At the end of ten rounds played in the Bundesliga, there are two clubs left who have passed this stretch at one mighty pace: Bayer and Bayern. These teams are still without defeats and are focused on the fight for first place. The opponents for the upcoming meeting in Stuttgart occupy the third and fourth places with 21 points each. In fact, Stuttgart and Borussia are leading the "second echelon" of clubs in the German championship, which will be focused, to a greater extent, on the places in the Champions League zone. It is worth recalling that the hosts of the upcoming match in early June this year played in the play-off for the right to retain a place in the elite division, following which they beat Hamburg twice. Just a few months later, the same players have transformed into one of the leaders of German football, and their leading forward is the best in the Bundesliga. Borussia Dortmund, after missing out on the top spot in the final round of the last championship and losing their best player, are performing at about their high level. Bookmakers have not decided on the favourites of the upcoming meeting, offering on the rivals approximately equal odds. Stuttgart from the beginning of September to the third decade of October gave one of the best game segments in its recent history. The team achieved eight wins in eight meetings, and Serhu Girassi showed the kind of performance that only Lewandowski and Holland have recorded in previous championships. Recent weeks have emphasised Stuttgart's playing slump. If in the German Cup the team managed to "kick" barely alive Union Berlin, in the championship it suffered two consecutive defeats. And not from the strongest opponents: Heidenheim and Hoffenheim. Borussia are in the strongest group of the Champions League, but they are doing the best there, leading after four rounds. The Bumblebees are not doing too badly in the league, but they were dealt a bad hand by Bayern Munich, who won 4-0 in Dortmund last week. Stuttgart did not play in the middle of the week unlike their opponents, but the visitors need points, for which the fight will be hard and effective.