Whilst Stuttgart have faltered across recent fixtures, Augsburg have picked up some serious domestic form. The two sides go head to head at MHPArena on Thursday evening, with a place in the DFB-Pokal semi-finals on the line.
VfB Stuttgart
Stuttgart suffered from what many may view as a European hangover on Saturday against Borussia Mönchengladbach, after being dumped out of the Champions League by Paris Saint Germain in midweek.
Sebastian Hoeneß’s men fell to a 2-1 defeat against Gladbach on Saturday afternoon, thanks to a late winner from Tim Kleindienst. The loss was the third in the space of a week for VfB, with the period being the first real bump in the road for Hoeneß at the club since taking over in 2023.
In an attempt to get their form back on track, Die Schwaben now turn their attention to DFB-Pokal action, where they face Augsburg for a place in the semi-finals.
Stuttgart did fall at the quarter-final stage last season, losing 3-2 against eventual unbeaten league and cup double winners, Bayer Leverkusen. However, despite recent form, Hoeneß will back his men on home soil to seal that much-coveted semi-final spot.
Team News
In today’s press conference, Hoeneß confirmed that Ameen Al-Dakhil will miss Tuesday’s clash after suffering an injury against Gladbach at the weekend. He also revealed that there are question marks surrounding Nick Woltemade, who has been suffering from sickness since Sunday.
Otherwise, Dan-Axel Zagadou, El Bilal Toure and Justin Diehl remain unavailable.
Earlier today, the club confirmed the departure of Anthony Rouault, who joined up with French side Stade Rennais for a fee of 13 million euros, plus an extra two in bonuses.
Stuttgart have since been busy themselves ahead of the transfer deadline. 21-year-old Swiss defender Luca Jaquez, alongside highly regarded Nürnberg defender Finn Jeltsch, have both signed deals at the club. Jeltsch in particular is highly regarded across Germany, after making 18 appearances for FC Nürnberg in the 2. Bundesliga this season.
FC Augsburg
Augsburg’s late equaliser against St. Pauli extended the side’s unbeaten Bundesliga run to four, with the club’s last defeat coming against Tuesday’s opponents in the curtain-raiser for both sides in 2025.
In a match between two Swabian sides, Augsburg are set to bring 4,000 supporters from Bavaria, all with the hopes of seeing their club secure a sensational semi-final spot.
“Our aim is to reach the next round, and we’ll do as well as we can to do so,” said Augsburg head coach Jess Thorup in this afternoon’s press conference.
Thorup himself has won the Danish Cup as both a player and coach during his career.
Team News
Regarding team news, Thorup outlined that Yusuf Kabadayi will remain unavailable, with the same being said for winter signing Mergin Berisha.
Henri Koudossou is making good progress as his return to full fitness continues, he is not a viable option yet, however. Cedric Zesiger will also return to the squad.
It was also confirmed that Nediljko Labrović will replace Finn Dahmen in between the sticks after Dahmen has started all three games for Die Fuggerstädter in the Pokal this season.
“I fully trust Nedo,” said Thorup, who added that his team are fully prepared for penalties in the competition again.
“We have practised them, just like we did before our last cup ties.”
