- 1 Stuttgart vs FC Koln: 18th against 7th after one round
- 2 Stuttgart: battered in Munich, but still a force at the MHPArena
- 3 FC Koln: three points in the bag, but the away issues are still there
- 4 Bundesliga prediction Stuttgart vs FC Koln
- 5 First, a word on our free predictions
- 6 No commitment from us
- 7 Information can change
- 8 Your responsibility
- 9 Responsible gambling first
- 10 Legal age
- 11 About the images…
Stuttgart vs FC Koln: 18th against 7th after one round 
Stuttgart shipped five goals in Munich on opening day and sit bottom of the Bundesliga. Koln beat Hoffenheim 3-2 and are up in seventh with three points.
Kick-off is set for Friday, September 4 at 8:30 pm, German time, at the MHPArena. It is Stuttgart’s first home league game of the 2026-27 season.
One stat tells the story: Stuttgart lost just three of their home league games in 2025-26, alongside 13 wins and three draws. VfB also kept eight clean sheets there.
Cologne arrive with the opposite away record. Just one win in their last 14 matches on the road in all competitions, and seven defeats in that run.
The wider season picture is different too. Stuttgart finished fourth last year and begin their Champions League campaign next week, while Koln survived by just three points.
The two sides met twice in the league last season, and Stuttgart won both. Across the last seven meetings, Koln have lost five and never won.
Tactically, this will hinge on one key battle: can the visitors’ back line hold firm against a team that scored at least twice in nine home league games last season?
Stuttgart: battered in Munich, but still a force at the MHPArena 
The fixture list has not exactly been kind to Stuttgart, sending them to the German champions for their opener. The 5-1 loss at the Allianz Arena dropped them to 18th.
That defeat does not sum up Stuttgart’s August. A week earlier, they put four past Hansa Rostock in the first round of the German Cup without conceding.
The number Sebastian Hoeness will care about sits at the back: Stuttgart have conceded at least twice in 10 of their last 16 competitive matches. Defensive steel remains the work in progress.
At home, though, the numbers look very different. In their 19 league games at the MHPArena in 2025-26, VfB recorded 13 wins and eight clean sheets.
Deniz Undav leads the attack with two assists already this season, after scoring 19 Bundesliga goals last term. Jamie Leweling, who had seven goals and nine assists, will support him in the final third.
Dzenan Pejcinovic, signed from Wolfsburg in the summer window, started up front on matchday one. Chris Fuhrich, who was not quite ready for Bayern, is expected back in the squad.
The treatment room is still busy: Justin Diehl (thigh), Nikolas Nartey (hamstring) and Dan-Axel Zagadou (hamstring) will miss out. Jeff Chabot, Finn Jeltsch and Ramon Hendriks are expected to keep their place in the back four.
Stuttgart’s summer business was about adding depth in midfield and attack. Bilal El Khanouss arrived permanently from Leicester, while Grischa Promel joined from Hoffenheim and goalkeeper Funk came in from Energie Cottbus.
There have also been exits. Full-back Stenzel left on a free, and midfielder Andres moved to Brighton, two players from the regular line-up who now need replacing.
The bigger picture is still that of a side with only two official wins in their last seven outings. Even so, they have lost only twice in that spell and beat Bayer Leverkusen.
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FC Koln: three points in the bag, but the away issues are still there 
Cologne came from behind to beat Hoffenheim 3-2 in front of their own fans last Saturday. The Goats were twice behind before turning it around in the final quarter-hour.
Thijs Dallinga, loaned from Bologna this summer, scored twice on his Bundesliga debut, including the winner in the 82nd minute. The former Toulouse man already looks like the focal point of the attack.
Before that, the Rhinenlanders booked their German Cup place with a 2-1 win away to Wurzburger Kickers. Two wins from two competitive games, then, to open the season.
It is a sharp contrast to the end of last term. Koln won only two of their final 15 league matches in 2025-26, lost seven and only stayed up on the final day.
The record on the road remains the main worry. In 14 recent away games, the Goats have lost seven times, conceded at least twice on nine occasions and failed to score three times.
Said El Mala, who scored against Hoffenheim and had 13 goals and four assists last season, came off with an injury and is not certain to play. His fitness shapes part of Cologne’s attacking plan.
Rene Wagner also has to cope without Timo Hubers (knee), Sebastian Sebulonsen (hamstring) and Gian-Luca Waldschmidt. The centre-back pairing should be Jahmai Simpson-Pusey and Luka Lochoshvili, who joined from Nuremberg this summer.
Koln’s summer rebuild was extensive. Kaminski, who scored seven Bundesliga goals last season, left for Benfica, Huseinbasic joined Braga and Martel moved to Mainz, three regular starters gone.
To fill the gaps, the club brought in left-back Mensah from Auxerre, winger Heskey from Manchester City and young French goalkeeper Martin James, who came through at PSG.
That overhaul explains the split between their bright start and the fragility they showed away from home last season.
Probable Stuttgart line-up: Bredlow – Vagnoman, Jeltsch, Chabot, Mittelstadt – Promel, Stiller – Leweling, Undav, El Khanouss – Pejcinovic.
Probable FC Cologne line-up: Schwabe – Castro-Montes, Simpson-Pusey, Lochoshvili, Mensah – Skhiri, Johannesson – Thielmann, Bulter, El Mala – Dallinga.
Bundesliga prediction Stuttgart vs FC Koln
Our prediction: Stuttgart to win (odds 1.51 – -196 – 51/100)
The balance of power at the MHPArena is hard to argue with: 13 home league wins in 19 last season for Stuttgart, against just one Koln win in their last 14 away games.
The recent head-to-head record points the same way, with Koln losing five of the last seven meetings and not winning any. Stuttgart won 3-1 at home in February.
Cologne are improving, and Dallinga gives them a real edge, but the uncertainty around El Mala leaves them short of a second reliable attacking outlet. Stuttgart should take this.
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