VfB Stuttgart vs. Borussia Dortmund preview: BVB put perfect start on the line

Borussia Dortmund are looking to maintain their perfect Bundesliga start on Saturday as they face VfB Stuttgart in a clash that has become a real grudge match in recent years.

Borussia Dortmund and VfB Stuttgart's players clash following Dortmund's 2-0 win on 4 April 2026.

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VfB Stuttgart

Three Bundesliga outings have brought three very different results for VfB Stuttgart in the early days of the season. 

Sebastian Hoeneß's side suffered a chastening 5-1 defeat against Bayern Munich on opening night, responded emphatically by beating Köln 4-1 at home, but were unable to build on that result last weekend.

Despite heading to Sinsheim with momentum behind them, Stuttgart suffered a 2-1 defeat against Hoffenheim, with Adam Hlozek scoring twice for the hosts. 

That leaves Die Schwaben on three points heading into their toughest home fixture of the season so far. 

VfB can at least draw confidence from their performances against Dortmund in recent seasons, having memorably thrashed BVB 5-1 at Neckarstadion in September 2024 and had enjoyed a strong run in the fixture before losing last season's corresponding meeting 2-0 following two late Dortmund goals. 

With BVB arriving in perfect form, Hoeneß has stressed the need for greater defensive stability while ensuring his side retain their attacking threat - something hardly surprising given the difficulties seen in defending transitions thus far this term. 

Team news

Angelo Stiller remains a question mark after being forced off with a knock against Hoffenheim, but his recovery during the week has been positive nonetheless. 

Nikolas Nartey is also nearing a return to the matchday squad, while Dan-Axel Zagadou, Luca Jaquez, Lorenz Assignon and Tiago Tomas continue their road to recovery. 

Dennis Seimen and Justin Diehl have also began partial training, with a return after the international break potentially on the cards for goalkeeper Seimen. 

Click here to see our predicted Stuttgart lineup

Borussia Dortmund

With three wins from three, Borussia Dortmund have made their first perfect Bundesliga start in 11 years, scoring eight times in the process of collecting nine points while conceding twice. 

Niko Kovac's side opened their term with a 2-0 win against Hamburg, then produced a superb comeback to beat Hoffenheim 3-2 after trailing by two goals in Sinsheim. 

Last weekend brought a much more routine afternoon as Dortmund dispatched newly-promoted Paderborn 3-0 at Signal Iduna Park. 

Fabio Silva continued his fine form to open the scoring in the first half, before Felix Nmecha netted twice late on, including a spectacular overhead kick. 

BVB have won each of their five matches since losing the Franz Beckenbauer Supercup to Bayern, with league victories matched by success in both the DFB-Pokal and the Champions League. 

Now, they head to Swabia for the highest-scoring fixture in Bundesliga history, with 381 goals having been scored across the previous meetings between the clubs.

Team news

Kovac has received several big boosts ahead of the trip, with Konstantinos Karetsas returning to training following his recent circulatory problems and is expected to travel with the squad. 

Nico Schlotterbeck and Ramy Bensebaini are also fully available after successfully coming through their returns against Paderborn last weekend. 

Click here to see our predicted Dortmund lineup