Bundesliga Betting: Stuttgart Flying High Under Hoeness
It has been eight months since Stuttgart thrashed Hamburg 6-1 in the two-legged promotion/relegation playoff, securing a fourth consecutive season in the Bundesliga. Despite losing key players in the summer (Borna Sosa (Ajax), Wataru Endo (Liverpool), and Kostas Mavropanos), Stuttgart has been one of the biggest revelations in Europe and finds itself in third place. They are the third Bundesliga team to reach the 40-point mark after Bayer Leverkusen (52) and Bayern Munich (50), they sit three points above Borussia Dortmund, and they have emerged as one of the best soccer bets today.
Leipzig has not missed out on the top four since 2017-18, BVB since 2014-15, but both sides have an uphill battle as they look to fend off competition from a Stuttgart side that, unlike the rest of the Bundesliga’s top seven, is not playing European football this season. Not only is Stuttgart chasing a return to the UEFA Champions League after 15 long years, but they’re also pursuing their first trophy since the 2006-07 Bundesliga title. If they can get to the next round, they’ll likely be the online betting favorites to win the DFB-Pokal, with their potential opponents being second-tier Fortuna Dusseldorf or Kaiserslautern or the winner of fourth-tier Saarbrucken and 13th-placed Gladbach, who will face off on Thursday.
Here’s the catch: in order to get to the semifinals, they’ll have to do something they haven’t been able to since 2018: beat Bayer Leverkusen, who just happens to be the only team in Europe that has not lost a single match this season. It should come as no surprise that Leverkusen is priced at -156 in our betting lines, but one thing’s for sure: their next opponent should be a fairly easier test.
Whilst Stuttgart will travel to Leverkusen on Tuesday, Mainz will host Union Berlin on Wednesday in a vital relegation six-pointer. Mainz sits 17th in the table, level on points with Darmstadt and four above Cologne, with a game in hand on both, as well as six points behind Union. They have picked up two points from their last five matches, closing out January with a 1-0 loss at Eintracht Frankfurt before falling to a 1-0 defeat to Werder Bremen on Saturday, and it’s no surprise that our sportsbook values them at -225 to come away with the three points against Mainz.
No Guirassy, No Problem: Stuttgart Best Bet Thanks to Red-Hot Undav
The last time Mainz faced Stuttgart, they lost 3-1 via Serhou Guirassy. This time, they’ve got a new sharpshooter to worry about: Deniz Undav.
After narrowly surviving the drop, Stuttgart got off to a stellar start to the 2023-24 season under Sebastian Hoeness, with Serhou Guirassy proving a major catalyst. The Guinean striker entered the November international break with 15 league goals in his locker, but he’s scored just twice since then – a penalty in a 2-0 win vs. Werder Bremen and a goal in a 3-0 victory against Augsburg on Dec. 20.
He hasn’t played for Stuttgart since then, but he could make his return vs. Mainz following Guinea’s AFCON elimination to DR Congo in the Round of 16. With or without him, though, Stuttgart is in safe hands thanks to the goal-scoring heroics of Deniz Undav.
Since making the move from Premier League side Brighton, Undav has emerged as both a worthy strike partner for Guirassy as well as an attacking talisman who is capable of leading the line by himself. The 27-year-old has racked up 13 goals and five assists in 17 league appearances, five of those appearances coming off the bench, and he’s a surefire addition to your soccer player prop bets.
It was just three years ago that Undav was playing in Belgium’s second division, but today, he’s shining for Stuttgart in the Bundesliga and knocking on the door for a maiden call-up to the German national team.
The last two meetings between Stuttgart and Mainz have featured over 3.5 goals, and they’ve also seen Stuttgart go on and take the three points. Mainz has a tall task ahead of them as they look to pick up their first league win since Nov. 4, and the odds are in Stuttgart’s favor as they look to come away with a 14th league win – twice as many as they had registered in the entirety of last season.
Questions of the Day
Which is the best player prop for Anytime Goalscorer in the Stuttgart vs Mainz match?
Deniz Undav. The 27-year-old has racked up 13 goals in 17 league appearances, five of those appearances coming off the bench. He’s a great pick for anytime goalscorer.
Who should I bet on in the Stuttgart vs Mainz match?
We’re expecting Stuttgart to continue their top-four pursuit with a high-scoring victory, and we’re expecting Deniz Undav to have a major role to play.
The odds and predictions in the article are based on the time of writing and publication. They may differ as to when the actual event takes place.
