Paderborn-Stuttgart is a match in the round of 16 of the German Cup and is played on Tuesday at 18:00: predictions and likely formations.
After the Bundesliga, the German Cup also returns to the round of 16. The two teams to open the programme are Paderborn, a club in the Zweite Liga – the lower division of German football – and Stuttgart, fully involved in the fight not to be relegated to the top division. All eyes will be on the Swabians of Bruno Labbadia, an experienced coach who took over from Pellegrino Matarazzo during the break.
Stuttgart are coming off a defeat, their eighth in this Bundesliga, but it came against one of the strongest and most in-form teams in Leipzig. The red and white surrendered 2-1 at the Red Bull Arena, but they did not look bad at all, reopening the match midway through the second half and making everything more difficult for Marco Rose’s men. Endo and his team-mates had two draws against Mainz and Hoffenheim since the start of the season, which helped them move up the table and away from the relegation zone. Which, however, is still close: from this point of view, the defeat in Leipzig was painless, as the two that are behind them, Hertha Berlin and Bochum, both lost.
The question, then, is always the same: how much energy will Labbadia decide to reserve for the national cup, which is certainly not the Swabians’ primary goal?
A clue comes from the past: those were other times, but during his first spell as coach of Stuttgart, the former Hertha coach went as far as to play in a final (2013) lost to Bayern Munich. Paderborn, on the other hand, are trying to get back on top after fleeting appearances a few years ago. In 2018 and 2019 they reached the quarter-finals and will try to do so again this time. In the Zweite Liga they have just returned to winning ways by putting an end to a long negative period – beating Karlsruher 1-0 – moving up to fifth place, although the playoff zone still remains a long way off.
The prediction
A challenge that could hold a few surprises, since as often happens in the first rounds of this competition, motivation comes into play. Stuttgart should avoid defeat in regulation play, in a match with less than four goals in total.
The Paderborn-Stuttgart line-up probables
- PADERBORN (3-4-3): Zingerle; Rohr, Hunemeier, Hoffmeier; Justvan, Mehlem, Schallenberg, Obermair; Muslija, Pieringer, Conteh.
- STOCCARDA (4-2-3-1): Bredlow; Stenzel, Anton, Ito, Vagnoman; Ahamada, Millot; Egloff, Nartey, Coulibaly; Guirassy.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 1-1
