Stuttgart vs. Bayer Leverkusen | Bundesliga | Pre Match
Stuttgart vs. Bayer Leverkusen
Bayer Leverkusen, the reigning Bundesliga champions, face a critical juncture in their season as they travel to the MHPArena on Sunday, March 16, 2025, to take on Stuttgart in their 26th league match, a contest they simply cannot afford to lose if they are to keep their fading title hopes alive and maintain pressure on leaders Bayern Munich. Sitting second in the standings with 53 points, Leverkusen trail Bayern by eight following a disheartening 2-0 defeat to Werder Bremen on March 8—a result that capped a torrid run of form that has seen them stumble to three consecutive losses across all competitions, including a Champions League exit at the hands of Bayern midweek. For Xabi Alonso’s side, the stakes are immense: with just nine games remaining, their once-commanding position has eroded, leaving the DFB-Pokal as their only realistic shot at silverware this term, a stark contrast to last season’s domestic dominance. Stuttgart, meanwhile, harbor ambitions of their own, their 37 points placing them eighth but only five shy of fourth-placed Eintracht Frankfurt, keeping their Champions League dreams alive despite a patchy record that includes four losses in their last five home games. This clash pits a faltering giant against a resilient underdog, with Leverkusen’s attacking woes and Stuttgart’s defensive frailties promising a tense, potentially decisive encounter in the Bundesliga’s mid-March landscape.
Leverkusen’s recent slide has been alarming, their 2-0 loss to Werder Bremen a microcosm of the issues plaguing Alonso’s squad as they dominated possession with 73% of the ball but failed to convert their superiority into goals, with Emiliano Buendia and Amine Adli squandering gilt-edged chances that might have altered the narrative. That defeat followed a 2-0 Champions League reverse to Bayern on Wednesday, completing a 5-0 aggregate drubbing in the round of 16 that ended their European campaign and marked their third straight loss—a sequence not seen since August 2022, when Alonso had yet to transform them into title winners. Die Schwarzroten’s struggles in the final third are particularly concerning: they’ve failed to score in their last three outings and in two of their prior four, a drought that belies their earlier potency and places immense pressure on a depleted attack missing key figures like Florian Wirtz, Martin Terrier, and Nathan Tella. On the road, their form has been equally shaky, with two wins, two draws, and two losses in their last six away games across all competitions—a record that hardly inspires confidence as they face a Stuttgart side that, while inconsistent, managed a 0-0 draw against them in November and boasts a historical upset in their 28-match rivalry, albeit a solitary win back in 2007. For Alonso, Sunday’s game is a must-win, not just to halt the slide but to reassert Leverkusen’s credentials as contenders in a season slipping through their grasp.
Stuttgart, under Sebastian Hoeness, approach the fixture with a blend of cautious optimism and lingering concerns, their 2-2 draw against Holstein Kiel on March 8 a testament to their resilience but also a reminder of their defensive vulnerabilities. Trailing 2-1 and down to 10 men after Leonidas Stergiou’s 53rd-minute red card, Stuttgart rallied to equalize just two minutes later through sheer determination, limiting Kiel to one significant chance thereafter—a gritty display that salvaged a point but did little to mask their inability to keep a clean sheet in their last seven Bundesliga matches. Hoeness will be acutely aware of this frailty as he prepares to face a Leverkusen side that, despite their current goal-shy form, possesses the firepower to punish any lapse. At home, Stuttgart’s record is even more troubling: they’ve lost four of their last five fixtures at the MHPArena, including each of their last three in the league, a run that undermines their hopes of climbing into the top four. Yet, their November stalemate with Leverkusen offers a blueprint—dogged defending and a compact shape frustrated the champions that day—and with only one win in 28 historical meetings, the prospect of an upset looms as a tantalizing, if unlikely, possibility. For Hoeness, shoring up a leaky defense while capitalizing on Leverkusen’s fragility could turn the tide in Stuttgart’s favor and bolster their Champions League aspirations.
The team news adds further complexity to the matchup, with both sides grappling with significant absences that could shape the outcome. Stuttgart will be without Stergiou, who serves a suspension, while Dan-Axel Zagadou remains sidelined until May, leaving Hoeness to rely on defenders Finn Jeltsch and Julian Chabot to shield goalkeeper Alexander Nubel—a trio that will need to be at their best to repel Leverkusen’s attack, however blunt it has been of late. In midfield, the reliable Angelo Stiller is likely to pair with Atakan Karazor, providing a solid base to support forwards Deniz Undav and Nick Woltemade, who will carry the burden of exploiting Leverkusen’s stretched backline. For Leverkusen, the injury list is more extensive: center-backs Mario Hermoso and Edmond Tapsoba are ruled out, forcing Alonso to deploy Nordi Mukiele, Jonathan Tah, and Piero Hincapie in a back three—a makeshift unit that Bayern exposed midweek. The absence of talisman Florian Wirtz, alongside Terrier and Tella, depletes their attacking options, thrusting Amine Adli, Aleix Garcia, and Patrik Schick into the spotlight as potential starters in a front three, with Granit Xhaka and Robert Andrich set to anchor the midfield in a double pivot. These absences test Leverkusen’s depth at a critical moment, while Stuttgart’s relatively lighter injury toll could give them an edge in terms of cohesion, if not quality.
For Leverkusen, the trip to Stuttgart is a defining test of character, their recent losses—to Werder Bremen, Bayern in the Champions League, and Bayern again in the Bundesliga earlier this season—laying bare a vulnerability that Alonso must address to keep their season alive. The DFB-Pokal remains their lifeline, but with only two league defeats in 2024-25 prior to this skid, a return to winning ways is imperative to close the eight-point gap to Bayern and fend off challengers like Leipzig and Frankfurt below them. Stuttgart, meanwhile, see an opportunity to pounce on a wounded giant, their Champions League hopes hinging on a resurgence at home and a rare victory over a Leverkusen side they’ve historically struggled to overcome. The November draw proved they can frustrate Alonso’s men, but converting that resilience into three points will require a defensive solidity they’ve yet to muster and a clinical edge against a Leverkusen defense missing key pillars. As the MHPArena braces for this clash, the contrast between Leverkusen’s desperation and Stuttgart’s ambition promises a compelling narrative—one where a faltering champion seeks redemption, and an underdog dares to dream of toppling a titan in a season teetering on the brink for both.
