Stuttgart-Mainz is a match on the 21st day of the Bundesliga and is played on Sunday at 3:30pm: live TV, likely lineups, predictions.
It took care of Deniz Undav, the striker who arrived on loan from Brighton last summer, not to make Serhou Guirassy, Stuttgart’s top scorer (17 goals so far in the league), who took part in the African Cup of Nations with his Guinea in the last month, regret it. The German scored a whopping four goals – 13 in total – in the matches with Leipzig and Freiburg, both of which were won by the red-and-whites.
The Champions dream therefore always remains alive for the Swabians, completely reborn since Sebastian Hoeness has been on the bench. The grandson of art, who arrived last spring, first saved Stuttgart from bitter relegation, avoided only after a play-off with Hamburg, and then laid the foundation for an ambitious season, even putting Europe in his sights. And no, we are not in front of the most classic of straw fires: for months now, Stuttgart has occupied the third position behind the two title contenders, Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich. Neither Borussia Dortmund nor Leipzig have managed to overtake the red-and-whites, who are strong with a reassuring four-point lead over fifth.
In the week, the Swabians even held off the team that looks down on everyone in the Bundesliga, Bayer Leverkusen, in the German Cup quarterfinal (3-2).
Until halftime, Stuttgart was ahead at the BayArena and cashed in the decisive goal in the 90′ when we were already resigned to extra time. Hoeness is aiming to put the disappointment behind them in the league showdown with second-last-place Mainz and with six points to make up on fourth-last-place Union Berlin. Jan Siewert’s men in the week squandered a great opportunity, failing to go beyond a draw in the rematch with the Capitols (1-1). A point that does not allow them to take any step forward in the standings.
The prediction
Having been on a nine-game winless streak, Mainz should not be able to avoid defeat in the away match in Stuttgart against a team that has lost only once in its last 14 outings in front of its home crowd. Hosts favored in a match in which the total number of goals is likely to be between two and four.
Stuttgart-Mainz
likely lineups.
STOCCARDA (4-4-2): Nübel; Vagnoman, Anton, Ito, Mittelstädt; Millot, Karazor, Stiller, Führich; Undav, Guirassy.
MAINZ (4-2-3-1): Zentner; Widmer, van den Berg, Caci, Mwene; Barreiro, Krauß; Onisiwo, Amiri, Burkardt; Ngankam.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 3-1