The 100th Bundesliga meeting between Eintracht Frankfurt and Stuttgart takes place at the Deutsche Bank Park on Saturday afternoon.
While the hosts are seeking to claim their fifth successive home victory in the top flight, the visitors are still searching for their first away league win of the season.
Match preview
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Eintracht Frankfurt made a strong start on the domestic front following the World Cup break, winning three and drawing two of their first five fixtures of 2023, including a hard-fought 1-1 draw at Bayern Munich.
However, Oliver Glasner's side have since won only one of their last five matches in all competitions, with back-to-back defeats against RB Leipzig and Napoli followed by a 2-2 draw with Wolfsburg last weekend.
Goals from Randal Kolo Muani and Evan Ndicka turned the game on its head after Omar Marmoush has opened the scoring, but Yannick Gerhardt's strike two minutes before half time ultimately forced both sides to share the spoils.
Fortunately for sixth-placed Frankfurt, neither Union Berlin, Leipzig or Freiberg – who sit third, fourth and fifth respectively in the Bundesliga table – claimed maximum points last weekend, so they remain in touching distance of the Champions League positions, sitting just three points behind the top four.
Last season's Europa League winners will welcome a return to the Deutsche Bank Park where they have won each of their last four league matches by an aggregate score of 12-2.
Frankfurt are unbeaten in each of their last seven Bundesliga meetings with Stuttgart – including a 3-1 away win in September – and another victory on Saturday would provide a much-needed confidence boost ahead of next Wednesday's Champions League last-16 second leg with Napoli, with the German side trailing 2-0 to their Italian counterparts.
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After claiming just their fourth Bundesliga win of the season against Koln in the middle of February, winning 2-0 on home soil, Stuttgart have since suffered back-to-back 2-1 defeats against Schalke 04 and Bayern Munich.
Losing to fellow strugglers Schalke was a major blow in their quest for survival, while a spirited performance against Bayern was not enough to secure any points last weekend, leaving Bruno Labbadia with plenty to ponder heading into the final 11 fixtures of the campaign.
Stuttgart are one of four teams along with Hoffenheim, Schalke and VfL Bochum who are sitting level on 19 points at the bottom of the Bundesliga table, although Die Roten are currently one place above the bottom three on goal difference.
Labbadia will be keen for his side to bounce back from successive defeats and take advantage of Frankfurt's inconsistent form, but moving clear of the drop zone with a victory on Saturday may be a tall order.
Indeed, Stuttgart are the only Bundesliga team who are yet to win away from home so far this season, losing seven and drawing four of their 11 matches on the road, while they have failed to win any of their last four visits to the Deutsche Bank Park, albeit drawing their last two by a 1-1 scoreline.
Team News
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Eintracht Frankfurt duo Jesper Lindstrom and Eric Ebimbe are both ruled out with ankle injuries, while Aurelio Buta is doubtful with a knee problem and will be assessed ahead of kickoff.
Djibril Sow is available to return from suspension and the midfielder is set to replace Lindstrom in the first XI, with his inclusion allowing Daichi Kamada to move into an advanced midfield role alongside Mario Gotze.
Star striker Kolo Muani is expected to continue up front – the Frenchman has been involved in 21 goals (11 goals and 10 assists) in his first 22 Bundesliga matches with only former Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Braut Haaland having been directly involved in more goals (27) during this period since data collection began in 2004-05.
As for Stuttgart, Serhou Guirassy remains sidelined with a long-term tendon injury, while Pascal Stenzel is closing in on a return from a thigh problem, although Saturday's game will likely come too soon for the defender.
Labbadia is not expected to make too many changes, if any, to his starting lineup, with Waldemar Anton set to keep his place at right-back ahead of Josha Vagnoman and Silas Katompa Mvumpa preferred in attack to Luca Pfeiffer and Tiago Tomas.
Eintracht Frankfurt possible starting lineup:
Trapp; Tuta, Hasebe, Ndicka; Knauff, Sow, Rode, Max; Kamada, Gotze; Kolo Muani
Stuttgart possible starting lineup:
Bredlow; Anton, Mavropanos, Ito, Sosa; Endo, Karazor, Haraguchi; Gil Dias, Silas, Fuhrich
We say: Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1 Stuttgart
While Frankfurt are sure to have one eye on next week's Champions League clash with Napoli, they can ill-afford to drop more points in the Bundesliga if they wish to qualify for Europe's premier club competition this term.
Stuttgart, meanwhile, are desperate to claim maximum points in their quest to move away from the relegation zone, but we believe that the hosts will edge a closely-fought contest at the Deutsche Bank Park.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Oliver Thomas
