Preview:Stuttgart vs. VfL Bochum - prediction, team news, lineups

The bottom two sides in the Bundesliga meet at the Mercedes-Benz Arena as managerless Stuttgart play host to basement club VfL Bochum on Saturday.

The visitors secured their first win of the season last time out, while the hosts are the only remaining Bundesliga club who are yet to claim maximum points this term.

Match preview

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After avoiding relegation from the top flight in dramatic fashion on the final day of last season, Stuttgart have since endured a frustrating start to the new campaign, and with only five points on the board from nine matches, the club felt the time was right to relieve Pellegrino Matarazzo of his managerial duties on Monday.

A slender 1-0 home defeat against league leaders Union Berlin last weekend was the American's final game in charge of Die Roten, who have placed Michael Wimmer in interim charge as they look for a permanent replacement.

Stuttgart now turn their attention to Saturday's bottom-of-the-table clash against Bochum, which sees the team with the worst home record in this season's Bundesliga play host to the side with the worst away record in the division.

Die Roten have lost their last three league games, but they can be confident of ending this run as they are unbeaten in each of their last 23 home meetings with Bochum since a 4-2 Bundesliga defeat back in May 1987.

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Bochum ended a nine-game winless run in the Bundesliga when they secured an impressive 3-0 home victory against Europa League holders Eintracht Frankfurt last weekend.

Philipp Hofmann broke the deadlock in the 71st minute before an own goal from Evan Ndicka and a stoppage-time strike from Philipp Forster helped newly-appointed head coach Thomas Letsch win his first home game in charge of the club.

While securing three points will have lifted the spirits in the Bochum camp, Letsch will have been delighted to have seen his side keep a clean sheet after conceding a league-high 23 goals in their previous eight games.

The Blues remain at the foot of the table but a victory on Saturday would see them leapfrog Stuttgart and move to within a point of safety.

Bochum have lost all four away matches so far this term, but they will view this weekend's fixture as the perfect opportunity to come away with a positive result against a Stuttgart outfit who have picked up just two points from their first five matches at the Mercedes-Benz Arena.

Team News

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Stuttgart striker Serhou Guirassy is suspended after receiving a red card in the defeat against Union Berlin last time out, while Atakan Karazor will serve a one-match ban after accumulating five yellow cards.

Chris Fuhrich is the most likely candidate to replace Karazor in centre-midfield and the absence of Guirassy is set to see Silas Katompa Mvumpa join Tiago Tomas in attack.

Josha Vagnoman is ruled out with an ankle injury, with Pascal Stenzel set to start at right wing-back as a result, while Borna Sosa is expected to replace Hiroki Ito on the opposite flank.

As for Bochum, Takuma Asano (knee), Paul Grave (shoulder) and Konstantinos Stafylidis (COVID-19) are all ruled out, while Lys Mousset is doubtful due to fitness issues and will be assessed ahead of kickoff.

Letsch is unlikely to make any changes to his starting lineup following last weekend's victory and he should therefore stick with a 4-2-3-1 formation.

Philipp Forster, who contributed to all three goals in the win against Frankfurt, joined the Blues from Stuttgart over the summer and is expected to start in the number 10 role against his former club in behind striker Philipp Hofmann.

Stuttgart possible starting lineup:

Muller; Mavropanos, Anton, Zagadou; Stenzel, Fuhrich, Endo, Ahamada, Sosa; Tomas, Silas

VfL Bochum possible starting lineup:

Riemann; Gamboa, Masovic, Ordets, Soares; Losilla, Osterhage; Zoller, Forster, Holtmann; Hofmann

We say: Stuttgart 1-1 VfL Bochum

Both Stuttgart and Bochum will view this fixture as a good opportunity to get some points on the board as they bid to climb up the table and away from the relegation zone.

However, with little to separate these two teams, a score draw could be on the cards this weekend.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.