SCHALKE STUGGART

VfB Stuttgart set a club first in 2022-23 by going nine Bundesliga games without a win to start the season, which saw Pellegrino Matarazzo depart as head coach and replaced by interim manager Michael Wimmer. Whilst Wimmer enjoyed three wins in six games in charge, Bruno Labbadia took over the club for the first time in nearly 10 years.

However, Labbadia hasn’t been able to steer the Stuttgart ship clear of danger, with just one win and six points (D3 L6) collected across his 10 games in charge of the club. With their 1-0 defeat to Wolfsburg before the international break, VfB fell to the foot of the table for the first time in 2022-23. A worrying trend for Stuttgart has been their inability to stop the opposition from scoring, despite not presenting them with the easiest chances this season.

On average, Stuttgart’s expected goals against per game of 1.30 is bettered by only five Bundesliga teams in 2022-23, while it’s exactly the same as league leaders Borussia Dortmund. However, they have conceded nearly 10 goals more than expected (42 from 32.5 xG), which is the second worst difference in the Bundesliga (-9.5) behind only FC Köln (-11.2).

Stuttgart fans should be worried about finishing in the bottom three this season. Whilst the Opta supercomputer gives Schalke and Hertha a bigger chance of finishing in the bottom two, and only Hertha and Hoffenheim have a bigger chance of appearing in the relegation play-off, Stuttgart’s inability to pick up a win on the road could harm them.

As the only club yet to win an away match in 2022-23 (D5 L7), it’s concerning for Stuttgart that five of their last nine games come away from home, with two of those against rivals for the drop – Bochum on MD27 and Hertha BSC on MD31.

The final game of the season will also be a grudge match, with former coach Matarazzo returning to the Mercedes-Benz Arena with his current side, and fellow relegation threatened outfit Hoffenheim. That game as the potential to be the ultimate relegation showdown.