The fight for the first title of the new season is on! FC Bayern travel to face VfB Stuttgart in the Franz Beckenbauer Supercup on Saturday at 20:30 CEST. Six days before the Bundesliga opener, it’s crunch time for Vincent Kompany’s team – and Munich are confident after three victories in the pre-season friendlies. But the DFB Cup winners have a lot of quality and will put up a fight against the German record champions. A look at VfB Stuttgart’s play under Sebastian Hoeneß reveals what FC Bayern can expect in Saturday’s Supercup – and what they have to watch out for.
Pre-season
Three victories, one draw and one defeat – that’s Stuttgart’s pre-season record. Results from friendlies are rarely reliable, but apart from the narrow defeat to Bologna in the last friendly, VfB have shown their hunger for goals. The 7-1 victory over amateur club SV Fellbach was to be expected, but the results against stronger opponents (4-4 draw against PSV Einhoven, 2-1 win over Celta Vigo, 6-0 victory over Toulouse) reflect VfB’s strength up front.
New signings
VfB Stuttgart have signed four players so far this summer. A promising talent joined them from FC Barcelona in Noah Darvich. The 18-year-old attacking midfielder learned the trade at SC Freiburg and made a total of 46 appearances for FC Barcelona B in the last two years. The Germany U19s captain led his team to the Euro semi-finals, where they lost 6-5 to Spain after extra time. 20-year-old Chema Andrés, who joined from Real Madrid B, will reinforce VfB’s central midfield. VfB signed a promising youngster for the right wing from Red Star Belgrade in Lazar Jovanovic. Right-back Lorenz Assignon from Stade Rennes is the most well-known new signing.
Line-up
FC Bayern loanee Alexander Nübel features in goal behind defensive leader Jeff Chabot and Luca Jaquez at centre-back. Maximilian Mittelstädt is the left-back, with Josha Vagnoman on the right, with the latter facing stiff competition in new signing Assignon. Captain Atakan Karazor and Angelo Stiller feature in defensive midfield, although the latter is currently sidelined with injury. Chema is set to make his competitive debut for VfB in the Supercup. Jamie Leweling, Deniz Undav and Chris Führich might start in attacking midfield, with Nick Woltemade, Stuttgart’s joint top scorer alongside Ermedin Demirović (17 goals) last season, likely to play up front.
Style of play
VfB like to be in control under Hoeneß – only FC Bayern (63 percent) and Borussia Dortmund (57) enjoyed more of the ball than the Swabians (56) last season. They are extremely flexible, varying between a back three and a back four. Deniz Undav & Co. usually played in a 4-2-3-1 formation in their friendlies.
Stuttgart’s build-up play is based on patient, short passing. They let the ball do the work and create gaps in their opponents’ lines. The wing-backs play key roles: they sometimes push into the centre to create a numerical superiority, whereas the other drops back to form a back three, or they move to defensive midfield to close down the space.
Stuttgart are compact and can counter-press immediately after turnovers thanks to many players who are close to the ball, winning many loose balls. Their two defensive midfielders are close to each other, with one dropping back a little. The two forwards are high up the pitch to create gaps between midfield and defence, and they sometimes drop deeper.
Stuttgart usually play in a 4-4-2 formation without the ball. The defensive line presses high, with the team focused on aggressive counter-pressing. Stuttgart tend to play man to man, putting their opponents under pressure. Stuttgart drop deeper for a midfield press in certain situations. Hoeneß has formed a disciplined and versatile team that creates space and looks for passing options.
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