Stuttgart vs Augsburg

On Wednesday, in-form Stuttgart takes on Bundesliga rivals Augsburg at the MHP Arena in an attempt to close out 2023 with a win.

With 31 points from 15 games this season, the hosts are in fourth place in the league standings going into this game, while the visitors are in 10th place with 18 points.

Stuttgart seemed like a different team last season, finishing in the relegation playoff spot and just surviving the drop. This season, they have been consistently producing fantastic results.

With a five-point lead over Borussia Dortmund in fifth place, the Reds are holding out the fourth and final Champions League qualification berth in the league after already securing 10 wins in 15 games this season.

Sebastian Hoeness's team enters this game after a challenging stretch of games that includes matches against the league's top two teams in recent weeks.

Although they forced a hard-fought 1-1 draw with league leaders Bayer Leverkusen last week, they were no match for Bayern Munich, who defeated them 3-0 at the Allianz Arena over the weekend.

The hosts, who have a record of six victories, one tie, and just one loss in eight games this season, will not be discouraged by the outcome, though, as they now return to their home field.

Even if their start to the 2023–24 Bundesliga hasn't been as strong as their opponents' thus far, Augsburg has still had a strong start to the season.

With 15 games played this season, Fuggerstadter has four wins, six draws, and five losses, placing them nine points above the drop zone and six points behind Freiburg in the Conference League qualifying slot.

Ermedin Demirovic opened the score for Jess Thorup's team last week at home against Borussia Dortmund, the runners-up from the previous campaign, but Donyell Malen tied the score ten minutes before halftime.

After that outcome, Augsburg has only dropped one of their last eight league games, that being a 2-0 road loss to Werder Bremen at the beginning of the month.

The previous meeting between these teams resulted in a 1-1 draw at WWK Arena, however Augsburg has lost twice prior to that draw from the previous season and has not defeated this opponent in the last three meetings.