VfB Stuttgart host SV Werder Bremen on Bundesliga Matchday 13. Hiroki Ito and Nikolas Nartey are joined on the injury list by Roberto Massimo (muscular problem) and Lilian Egloff (partial tear of lateral knee ligament). “Alexander Nübel has had a cold and was back on the pitch with us for the first time today. Angelo Stiller had a muscular reaction after the game at Frankfurt and was also back in full training today,“ confirmed Sebastian Hoeneß at Thursday’s press conference.
Ahead of the meeting with the team in 12th place, the VfB head coach praised the special atmosphere of Saturday evening matches, while also warning of fired-up opponents. “We expect a team who can play good football and have high-quality players in their ranks,” said Hoeneß. “I’m thinking in particular of Mitchell Weiser, Leonardo Bittencourt and Marvin Ducksch. I’m sure they’ll demand everything of us. We’re at home, half-past six kick-off, under the lights and a full house – with the right attitude I believe we can be successful against them. We have to play at our limit, though.“
Striker duo Serhou Guirassy and Deniz Undav are set to start together for the first time. “Both will be in the starting line-up,” revealed Hoeneß. “I’m looking forward to playing with a front two! Serhou and Deniz are in top form.”
The VfB boss also sang the praises of his holding midfield duo. “Angelo Stiller and Atakan Karazor are both press-resistant as well as being good runners and good players,” commented Hoeneß. “Angelo is more of the pacesetter and the playmaker. Atakan is a leader and never shies away from a tackle. The balance between them is right and they’ve had a good understanding since day one.”