“We want to impose our game on them”

Three Bundesliga wins on the spin, still in third place and 43 points already on the board – the mood at Stuttgart right now could not be better. Now VfB will be hoping this good spirit provides momentum for the away match at Darmstadt 98 on Saturday afternoon. “It’s going to be a challenging game for us,” said Jamie Leweling. “We’re playing in a stadium with a passionate atmosphere. Our aim is to stand up to that.” The hosts are winless in the league since early October and have failed to score in three of their four games in 2024.

Despite this, last Sunday’s meeting against Mainz 05 showed that teams at the bottom end of the table are not easy opponents. “When teams are down there, they’re awkward to play against but we successfully took the fight to Mainz,” explained Leweling, who quickly doubled VfB’s lead before the break with his second goal in as many home games following Maximilian Mittelstädt’s opener. “The quickfire double was very important for our play.”

After the deserved 3-1 victory against Mainz, head coach Sebastian Hoeneß is now preparing his charges for the assignment at Darmstadt. In the reverse fixture, the Cannstatt boys overturned a 1-0 deficit to win 3-1. Leweling and his teammates are aiming to claim the three points again with a convincing performance. “We want to impose our game on them,” added the winger.