Preview: Stuttgart vs. Wolfsburg - prediction, team news, lineups

The visitors, meanwhile, trail their opponents by three points having won four and lost two league matches so far this season.

Match preview

Having narrowly survived relegation in each of the last two campaigns - including when beating Hamburger SV in a two-legged relegation play-off in June - very few people would have foreseen Stuttgart sitting as high as second in the table after six games.

Sebastian Hoeness made an instant impact when taking over in early April, taking 15 points from seven games to help Die Roten clamber out of the automatic relegation spots, and he has matched that record in one fewer game across the opening weeks of the new campaign.

Serhou Guirassy has started the season on fire with 10 league goals to his name already, but it was a different striker who stole the headlines in their last match, with former Brighton & Hove Albion forward Deniz Undav coming off the bench to score twice and help his team beat FC Koln 2-0 away from home last weekend.

As such, with league leaders Bayer Leverkusen not playing until their home game against Koln on Sunday, Hoeness's side will have the opportunity to move to the summit by winning a fifth straight match on Saturday.

Wolfsburg will undoubtedly provide a stiff test for their opponents at the Mercedes-Benz Arena, though, having returned to winning ways with a 2-0 victory against Eintracht Frankfurt last time out.

Jonas Wind's brace either side of Mario Gotze's dismissal proved to be the difference between the two sides, with the Demark striker extending his goalscoring tally to seven for the season already. Only Guirassy and Harry Kane have scored more than him at this early stage of the campaign.

However, Niko Kovac will be keen for his players to avoid creating an unwanted pattern for themselves, having followed up each of their last two victories with defeats on the road to Hoffenheim and Borussia Dortmund.

First and foremost, the Wolves are likely to attempt to keep things tight given the impressive form of their opponents, before looking to bite them on the break whenever moments in transition present themselves.

Stuttgart Bundesliga form:

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Wolfsburg Bundesliga form:

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Team News

Stuttgart will desperately hope to have Silas Mvumpa, Dan-Axel Zagadou and Guirassy available to call upon despite their recent injury issues, while Angelo Stiller, Atakan Karazor and Josha Vagnoman should be available for selection despite struggling with bouts of illness recently.

However, Thomas Kastanaras, Woo-yeong Jeong and Nikolas Nartey have all been ruled out, while Jamie Leweling is unlikely to feature after picking up a knock in Cologne.

Wolfsburg, meanwhile, will travel without Rogerio, Mortiz Jenz, Lukas Nmecha, Kilian Fischer and Felix Lange due to injury, restricting Kovac's options should he wish to rotate at all.

In truth, though, the former Frankfurt boss is unlikely to make any alterations to a winning XI after overcoming his former side last time out, meaning Wind will continue to lead the line in Nmecha's absence.

Stuttgart possible starting lineup:

Nubel; Stenzel, Rouault, Anton, Ito; Karazor, Stiller; Silas, Millot, Fuhrich; Guirassy

Wolfsburg possible starting lineup:

Casteels; Baku, Lacroix, Zesiger, Maehle; Svanberg, Arnold; Tomas, Majer, Gerhardt; Wind

We say: Stuttgart 2-1 Wolfsburg

Providing Stuttgart have their key offensive players available - particularly Guirassy, who has been irresistible so far this season - then we can envisage them moving to the top of the Bundesliga table by recording another win on Saturday.

Wolfsburg represent a solid outfit under Kovac, but they remain inconsistent in terms of results, and the former Bayern Munich boss must work out a way to help his side perform better on the road.

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