Stuttgart – Bayern preview, the giants and the danger men

David vs Goaliath. Bayern Munich vs VfB Stuttgart. First vs 12th. Could this be anymore unfair? Well, let’s have a look at how both Stuttgart and Bayern play and what Stuttgart would have to do to win.

Stuttgart, the danger men

Injuries: none

Stuttgart isn’t the most dominant side in the bundesliga. With an average possession of 51% and only 2 clean sheets, Stuttgart doesn’t look to be an opponent that would cause concern for Bayern. However, Stuttgart has two danger men, which could cause Bayern a serious problem if being countered.

One of these is the young Timo Werner. Don’t be mistaken, you might not have heard much of him yet, but this youngster could pose to be a serious threat. The youngster, who prides himself with his speed and his shooting technique, should not be underestimated. Although he has only scored four goals up to now, he should not be underestimated; his speed could cause the Bayern defence harm.

The other star shining for Stuttgart is the experienced striker, Vedad Ibisevic. The top goalscorer for Stuttgart has an eye for the goal, guided by his experience and his decision making. However, with age, speed decreases. Speed could be vital for a victory over Bayern.

The technical stuff

How can Stuttgart defeat the giants that are Bayern Munich? The answer is simple, yet difficult. Bayern Munich will most likely use the 4-1-4-1, which gives it great strength through the midfield, but in exchange leaves them susceptible to the counter attack. Stuttgart would have to defend exceptionally well, which they have not done throughout the season, to combat Bayern in the counter.

Possible lineup

Bayern, with Robben and Götze?

Injury: Badstuber

Bayern Munich on the other hand have so much quality on the field that it should be easy for them to finish Stuttgart. With two players that are known for wanting to score goals in Robben and Götze, who are likely to play against Stuttgart, Stuttgart might suffer a heavy defeat.

(Update: the club has announced that Robben is not going to Stuttgart, while Ribéry also will be missing.)

Bayern Munich, who are unbeaten this season, have won the Champions League, the Bundesliga, the DFB pokal, the Audi cup, the Uli Hoeness cup, the Telekom cup, the European supercup and the Club World Cup prior to the year 2014.

So, instead of looking at Bayern Munich’s wins, we have to look at their defeats. The clearest one was the defeat against Borussia Dortmund, which was for the German supercup. As it was the first defeat for Pep Guardiola, we shouldn’t read too much into the match, but it is clear to see how it happened. Dortmund pressed them high up the field, to discomfort the Bavarian defence. If Stuttgart is able to press FCB high up the field too, they could launch a quick counterattack.

However, with Dante finding his form from last season more and more, and Boateng being consistently brilliant throughout the season, it would look unlikely for Stuttgart to press them off the ball. Additionally, Bayern will do everything to attack with full force, as a victory would make their title chances be near enough a hundred percent as mentioned by Lahm. Bayern certainly won’t be taking it easy

Stuttgart, who has been neutral over the season, visible by their goals scored/conceded (30:33) statistic, is certainly not the favourites to win this game. I normally don’t support a team making formation changes to play against another team, but Stuttgart need to play with a 5-3-2 if they want to have a chance of playing against Bayern Munich. Stuttgart’s usual 4-4-2 won’t be too effective, as the Bavarians will look to play their usual attacking passing game, which would expose holes in the aging Stuttgart defence.

This game looks to be a one-sided match, but if Stuttgart want to gain anything out of it, their defence has to be spectacular on this day. Also, their backline would have to be confident on the ball and quick, so that the defensive-minded players would pass the ball forward for a chance to find space. They will need to be careful, though, as the Bavarians pressure the opponents in their own half.

I predict that Stuttgart will bring in two substitutions on by the 60th minute, to bring in new players that can outpace the defenders. However, this is only a possibility. A fact is that Stuttgart needs an incredible day. Good luck with that.

Predicted result: 4:0 for Bayern

Possible lineup

So vertreiben sich Lahm, Dante, Guardiola & Co die Zeit im Bus.

Ohne Ribéry und Robben gegen Stuttgart

 

meni isto nije jasno da neko toliko obozava neki strani klub da bi mu bio drazi od nekog hrvatskog igraca..
no svakakvih ljudi ima...svakom po volji..

Kako ste hebeno naporni. Sta meni toliko mora znaciti neki hrvatski igrac??? Sta mi on mora biti neki bog i batina...ako je hrvat odmah mora biti nezabludiv...e brate nije taman da mi je otac...

Mandzo mi je strasno drag ali ste ga vi sada pretjerali i napravili od njega toliku zrtvu da je to strava...

Apsolutno se slažem s principom koji navodiš da ako je netko Hrvat  nije i bezgrešan. Ja sam prvi protiv toga da se stvari toliko banaliziraju i da se gleda crno-bijelo. Ali ovdje se ne radi o Mariju Mandžukiću kao nogometašu Hrvatu igraču Bayerna, već se radi o tome da je hrvatski navijački puk gladan "planetarno" poznatih nogometaša. U principu se želi da imamo hrvatskog Drogbu, da ne kažem baš novog Šukera, ali u svakom slučaju navijačka nacija priželjkuje svog junaka koji bi postao sinonim za državu. Mislim da je to ideal oko kojeg se sve ovdje vrti, a i budali je jasno da se to može postići samo ako imaš "glavnog igrača" barem po polufinalima LP, plus jaki tragovi kroz reprezentaciju na EP i SP. I tu je sad Mandžukić lik koji je najbliži tom postignuću. Ja dopuštam da postoje ljudi koji to ne kuže, i ne prihvaćaju i ruku na srce nemamo mi što kriviti Bayern zbog toga, Bayern ima svoja pravila i to je OK, ali mi imamo svoj interes u toj priči.

Tko zna što će se sve događati, i što će biti za pet mjeseci, naravno da svi priželjkujemo sve najbolje. Ja sam svijestan da ovdje ima sanjarenja i pomalo nerealnih nadanja, ali ako bi mi sad već odustali ne bi više bili navijači te reprezentacije. Pojam navijač podrazumjeva optimizam, nerealističnost i neobjektivnost. Ali da ne bi tko krivo shvatio, navijač ne podrazumijeva da se odmah treba i samoproglašavati velikanima ili samoreklamirati.

Da, ali vidis kako si ti to fino napisao za razliku od nekih koji su odmah osuli drvlje i kamenje na Bayern i na navijace...a eno Mandzo vec veceras ce igrat...

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