Stuttgart – Leverkusen 17.08.2013

Stuttgart will be aiming to make amends for their poor start to Bundesliga campaign when they take on Bayer Leverkusen at Mercedes-Benz-Arena on Saturday.

The visitors have started the new campaign with a victory over Freiburg and they will be looking for yet another win in Stuttgart.

Over the last few years Stuttgart have been really struggling to find the right form in German Bundesliga. During the summer transfer window Moritz Leitner has joined the club on a loan deal from Borussia Dortmund, while Norwegian striker Mohammed Abdellaoue has left Hannover to sign the deal with the Swabians. Nonetheless, Stuttgart kicked off their campaign with a 3:2 defeat to Mainz on the road and it seems as if Bruno Labbadiaˈs men are likely to continue their habit of producing good performances on home soil, while struggling on the travels. Stuttgart will be looking to make amends for a defeat to Mainz when they welcome Leverkusen at their Mercedes-Benz-Arena, but beating the Champions League side is easier said than done. After this clash Stuttgart take on Rijeka in the Europa League play-offs on Thursday and that will be a more important match for the Swabians. Taking everything into account, the hosts are unlikely to get anything from this encounter against Bayer Leverkusen.

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Bayer Leverkusen secured their place in the Champions League group stage thanks to a third-place finish last term. Nonetheless, the club chiefs have not made to many changes to the squad during the summer transfer window. Sevillaˈs central defender Emir Spahic and Korean striker Son Heung-min, who largely impressed on his debut for the Factory Squad in German Cup, have joined the club over the summer. Bayer Leverkusen started their Bundesliga campaign with a 3:1 over very strong Freiburg side at home ground. With Stefan Kiesling, who scored the opener against Freiburg, still in the squad, Bayer Leverkusen are likely to fight for a place in the Champions League this season, but the club chiefs should sign a few more players before transfer deadline. Taking everything into account, I believe that the hosts, who are on a five-match unbeaten run at the moment, are likely to make life difficult for Stuttgart at Mercedes-Benz-Arena.