Prediction: Stuttgart vs Hamburger SV

Verdict: Both teams to score

Best Odds: 4/7

Bookmaker: Olympusbet

Desperate to claim what would be a crucial first-leg advantage in their bid to avoid the drop, Stuttgart will welcome Hamburger to the Mercedes-Benz Arena on Thursday night.

Stuttgart

Starting with the hosts, missing out on the chance to automatically extend on their Bundesliga status last weekend, Stuttgart know that they must go about things the hard way. Once again spending the whole of the 2022/23 campaign battling it out at the foot of the table, Sebastian Hoeneb’s men have continued to show some extended inconstancies. Despite laying down what was a real marker on May 21st as they stormed their way to a stunning 4-1 romp away at Mainz, that is the only win that Stuttgart have claimed from their last five appearances. Opening May with an action-packed 3-2 defeat at home against Eintracht Frankfurt, fans around the Mercedes-Benz Arena will be hugely worried by their side’s extended defensive issues. In fact, Hoeneb’s men have failed to record a single clean sheet from any of their last nine straight domestic outings.

Team News

Suffering a broken ankle back in February, Stuttgart have already confirmed that 20-year-old Thomas Kastanaras will not feature in midweek. However, despite missing out against Hoffenheim last weekend, Hoeneb’s side are hopeful that former Borussia Dortmund defender Dan-Axel Zagadou could play some part here.

Finding the net in four of his last six Bundesliga appearances and the only Stuttgart player to notch double digits this season, attacking talisman Serhou Guirassy will spearhead Die Roten’s attack at the Mercedes-Benz Arena.

Hamburger SV

As for the visitors, eventually finishing just a single point adrift of punching an automatic Bundesliga return, Hamburger will know that they don’t have much time to feel sorry for themselves. Signing off their Bundesliga II campaign with a gritty 1-0 victory away at Sandhausen, Tim Walter’s men have won each of their last three second-tier appearances by an aggregate score of 8-2. With that run highlighted by an action-packed 5-1 romp away at Regensburg on May 14th, the one-time Stuttgart boss will be desperate to get one over on his former employers here. However, tipped as an underdog pick when they travel to the Mercedes-Benz Arena on Thursday night, Hamburger should be worried by their most recent meeting against Die Roten. Hit with an action-packed 3-2 loss when they travelled to Stuttgart back in May 2020, Walter’s men have mustered just one win from their previous four meetings.

Team News

Missing last weekend’s 1-0 victory away at Sandhausen through suspension, Bakery Jatta could make a full return here. However, Hamburger will once again be without the trio of Noah Katterbach, Omar Megeed and Andras Nemeth when they travel to the Mercedes-Benz Arena.

Notching 19 second-tier strikes this season and also signing off the 2022/23 campaign with three goals in his final five Bundesliga II appearances, 29-year-old Robert Glatzel will spearhead Walter’s charge on Thursday night. Glatzel should be joined in attack by ex-Gent forward Jean-Luc Dompe.

Key Factors to Consider

• When the two sides last met back in May 2020, Stuttgart claimed an action-packed 3-2 win at the Mercedes-Benz Arena.
• Hamburger have recorded just a single win from any of their last four competitive showdowns against Die Roten.
• Each of the last nine straight meetings between Thursday’s opponents across all competitions have finished with both teams finding the net.
• Stuttgart’s Serhou Guirassy signed off the 2022/23 campaign with four goals in his final six Bundesliga appearances.
• Hamburger won each of their final three Bundesliga II matchups by an aggregate score of 8-2.

Conclusion

Two sides who eventually missed out on the chance to book an automatic Bundesliga spot by just a single point, we could be treated to a lively affair from the Mercedes-Benz Arena on Thursday night. With Stuttgart claiming an action-packed 3-2 win when they last met Hamburger back in May 2020, they both have a habit of producing fireworks when they meet. With each of their last nine straight meetings across all competitions finishing with both teams finding the net, chances could come thick and fast in midweek. Two squads that have shown their own respective defensive issues this year, we are expecting a similar outcome in midweek.

Verdict: Both teams to score

Best Odds: 4/7

Bookmaker: Olympusbet