Dynamo Dresden vs Stuttgart

Last season’s Bundesliga strugglers Stuttgart head to the Rudolf-Harbig-Stadion to take on third-tier side Dynamo Dresden in the opening DFB Pokal round.

Dynamo Dresden’s thoroughly disappointing 2021/22 Bundesliga 2 campaign saw them suffer relegation to Germany’s third tier, and things have not improved since. After blowing hot and cold across their four pre-season fixtures (W2, L2), Markus Anfang’s men succumbed to a 4-3 home defeat to Munich 1860 in their opening league match this season, conceding precisely twice in each half. Dresden last faced Stuttgart in competitive action in the 2019/20 Bundesliga 2 season, losing both meetings by a two-goal margin. On top of that, they have only won one of their three previous league H2Hs as hosts (D1, L1), with both games won/lost in that sequence coming ‘to nil’ and seeing the winner score 2+ goals.

In the meantime, Stuttgart avoided the drop from the Bundesliga by the skin of their teeth last season, as nothing but a superior H2H record over Hertha BSC prevented them from entering the dreaded relegation playoffs. ‘Die Schwaben’ look to have taken an abysmal 2021/22 season personally, as they won all four pre-season outings by an aggregate score of 17-6, netting 3+ goals in three of them. However, since the calendar year flipped to 2021, Stuttgart have gone winless in all nine competitive away matches (D5, L4), conceding over 1.5 goals in five. It’s also worth noting that they’ve failed to score in two of their last three competitive road trips.