Will the Iron surprise the third-placed team?

At VfB Stuttgart, much is currently revolving around the potential retention of Serhou Guirassy beyond the end of the season. The Swabians’ top scorer with 20 goals is being courted by numerous clubs, but still feels very much at home in Bad Cannstatt. The chances of keeping the attacker are therefore absolutely there, especially if coach Sebastian Hoeneß’s team actually manage to punch their ticket for the 2024/25 Champions League season

In this respect, VfB are currently on the right track, as the southern Germans are third in the table and have a fairly comfortable seven-point cushion over fifth place. The fact that the aforementioned fifth place may even be enough to secure a place in the 36-team Champions League next season is also encouraging.

The Swabians now want to build on their extremely promising starting position in the Bundesliga on matchday 25. On Friday evening, they will play against the Iron Ones in front of a home crowd. According to the betting odds, VfB Stuttgart are the clear favorites against Union Berlin

Since the Köpenickers have to make do with 14th place in the table and have exactly half as many points as their upcoming opponents, the role of favorites in favor of the hosts is of course understandable. However, the home game against the capital city club should not be taken lightly, as the Iron have usually fared well against the Swabians in the recent past, with the exception of the current season. As a result, there tends to be no value in betting on the home side to win the Friday evening match between VfB Stuttgart and Union Berlin – also due to the low three-way odds. But there are other ways to win. As a new customer at Bwin, you can also collect a €10 free bet in addition to the bonus or simply take part in the “Beat the Legend” competition:

VfB Stuttgart – Statistics & current form

After 24 completed match days, VfB Stuttgart have a remarkable 50 points to their name. Even in the 2006/07 championship season, they had fewer points at the same time. Never before has a team that reached the 50-point mark so early in the course of a Bundesliga season slipped out of the top four in the final standings. The Autostadt can therefore already start planning for the 2024/25 UEFA Champions League.

Participation in the most important European club competition would certainly be deserved, as the southern Germans, who on average even have the youngest starting eleven in the German top flight, are causing a sensation with their very attractive, brash and successful soccer. After a weak start to the new soccer year 2024 with two defeats against Gladbach and Bochum, the form curve of Sebastian Hoeneß’ team has recently shown a clear upward trend. 16 points were scored in the last six BL matches. No other team has recorded more points and scored more goals than the third-placed team (17) in this period

Stuttgart are still waiting for their first clean sheet in 2024

To round off the positive aspects of VfB’s game, their home strength must also be mentioned. Since coach Hoeneß has been in charge in Bad Cannstatt, the Swabians have lost just one of 16 league home matches (10-5-1). The former German champions have also scored at least one goal in all 16 matches.

Alongside Deniz Undav, who continues to lead the scoring charts of all German players in the Bundesliga, Serhou Guirassy stood out from the rest. Guirassy is only the fourth VfB professional ever to score 20+ goals in the Beletage. The tall attacker scored twice again in the narrow 3-2 win at VfL Wolfsburg the previous week. If he puts his colors 1-0 ahead again on Friday evening, the VfB Stuttgart v Union Berlin duel will pay out high odds of 3.80 in the Bwin app.

The odds on both teams scoring in the MHPArena are also exciting. In eight consecutive Bundesliga matches, the third-placed team has always conceded at least one goal. They also conceded a goal in each of their last two home games against the generally rather harmless cellar dwellers from Cologne (1:1) and Mainz (3:1). In seven of the last eight BL matches, a bet on “both score” would have gone through.

Predicted line-up for VfB Stuttgart:

Union Berlin – Statistics & current form

Last season, Union Berlin excelled and sensationally qualified for the Champions League group stage in fourth place. The Köpenickers conceded just 38 goals over 34 matchdays and proved to be one of the most uncomfortable opponents in the top flight. Not much has remained of that in the current season. After just 24 matches, for example, the Berliners have conceded more goals than in the previous season. Despite their current eight-point lead over the relegation places, they have to look down.

However, those responsible at the Alte Försterei are not entirely dissatisfied with the current situation. Especially since the signing of Nenad Bjelica, many things have changed for the better. Only five of the 14 competitive matches under the Croatian coach have been lost (5-4-5). In the Bundesliga, they have a good 5-3-4 record after twelve games. Looking back over the past twelve matchdays, FCU have collected 18 points, which is many times more than their direct rivals from Darmstadt, Cologne and Mainz.

The Union drought away from home has come to an end

With a view to Friday evening’s visit, the fact that the Ironmen won their most recent away match at TSG Hoffenheim 1:0 after ten (!) winless away matches in the Bundesliga (0-2-8) also gives hope. The last two matchdays were followed by disappointing results at home against Heidenheim (2-2) and Borussia Dortmund (0-2). The cult club from the capital is therefore insisting on making amends and, at best, wants to win two BL away games in a row for the first time in over a year.

Top scorer Robin Gosens will also return to the starting eleven for this endeavor. Berlin’s top scorer with six goals was suspended in the previous week and is now likely to take his place on the left wing again. Although the Köpenickers have already failed to score on twelve occasions this season and have only managed 23 goals in total, we are confident that the prediction of goals from both teams will pay off between VfB Stuttgart and Union Berlin. There should be no lack of individual quality. In addition, Bjelica’s side have scored at least one goal in four of their last five BL matches.

Predicted line-up for Union Berlin:

VfB Stuttgart – Union Berlin head-to-head comparison / H2H result

This is the third time the clubs have faced each other this season. The first leg in the Bundesliga was a clear 3-0 affair for Stuttgart, who also benefited from the incredible negative run of the Iron under Urs Fischer. The second-round match in the DFB Cup also took place in the same period and ended 1-0 in favor of the Swabians, who had not won in eight consecutive competitive matches against Union (0-5-3) prior to these two encounters. Across all competitions, the capital club have only failed to score in one of their six away games in the Autostadt

VfB Stuttgart – Union Berlin betting tip

The 25th matchday in the Bundesliga opens on Friday evening with the game between VfB Stuttgart and Union Berlin. It doesn’t take much imagination to predict a home win for the Swabians. Hoeneß’ side are having an outstanding season, are in third place in the table and have picked up 16 points from their last six league games. However, the last home game to date against 1. FC Köln also brought more problems than expected. Can the Köpenickers also surprise at the MHPArena?

The fact is that the visitors from the capital are currently undergoing a decent development under Nenad Bjelica and have gained in resilience. Although Eisernen have recently failed to win twice in a row, we still think Gosens, Volland and Co. can score at least one goal in Bad Cannstatt. VfB have yet to score a goal in 2024; Union have scored in four of their last five BL matches. What’s more, the Berliners have also gone eight of their last ten head-to-head matches against the Swabians without defeat

We’re therefore trying our luck between VfB Stuttgart and Union Berlin with a bet on both teams to score, for which Bet365 is offering a high 1.93 at the top of the table.