Stuttgart vs Bochum

Mercedes-Benz Arena forms the backdrop for an opening 2023/24 Bundesliga encounter between last season’s underachievers Stuttgart and Bochum.

Stuttgart flirted with the danger last season, only securing Bundesliga survival via the relegation playoff, courtesy of a 6-1 aggregate win over Hamburger SV. Keen to avoid another scary campaign after finishing 15th or worse in three of their last four top-flight seasons, Stuttgart will draw confidence from dispatching lower-league Balingen 4-0 in the DFB-Pokal the previous weekend. That said, Stuttgart’s traditionally slow league starts have seen them open a new campaign with a win just three times across the last 11 seasons (D2, L6). But Bochum’s visit to Mercedes-Benz Arena might help ‘Die Schwaben’ turn the corner as they ran out 4-1 victors in this corresponding H2H in 2022/23, extending their unbeaten home run against this opposition in the top-flight to 20 matches (W14, D6)!

As another club synonymous with the struggle, Bochum will be desperate to better last season’s 14th-place finish following a demoralizing penalty shoot-out loss to Arminia Bielefeld in the opening DFB-Pokal round. However, the visitors can find inspiration in a three-game unbeaten league run (W2, D1) toward the end of last season, which played a crucial role in helping them stave off relegation. Unfortunately, that was probably the only positive in an otherwise dismal 2022/23 campaign, as Bochum conceded a staggering 72 Bundesliga goals, accounting for the worst defensive record in the club’s league history. That’s not to mention they’ve only managed one point from their opening eight matches last season (D1, L7)!