VfB Stuttgart vs 1. FC Köln — Tips & Analysis

VfB Stuttgart -1: Köln arrive without their two best attackers. Said El Mala and Thijs Dallinga both stayed at home ill, and Dallinga came off the bench to score twice in their opening win over Hoffenheim. Neither man trained on Wednesday or Thursday. Stuttgart are a different team at the MHPArena. They have won four of their last six there and let in less than a goal a game at home. The 1-5 at Bayern on the opening weekend looks bad, but that was one trip to Bayern. Köln struggle away from their own ground. They have won one of their last eight road games, with four ties, and they score just over 1 goal a game on those trips. Take out the two men who won them the opening game, and it is hard to see where the goals come from. Stuttgart have won the last two meetings 3-1 and 2-1. They also lead the last 20 meetings with 11 wins to Köln's 4. Here is the honest part. A 2-1 Stuttgart win is the most likely score, and we want them to win by more than one. Stuttgart have six players out themselves, including their keeper Seimen, and Köln have tied half their away games. We still want Stuttgart to win this clearly.