Stuttgart vs Young Boys Prediction: Hosts to pick up a rare win

VfB Stuttgart have struggled to hit the same heights they set last season and their return to the Uefa Champions League is yet to bear fruit. They have collected four points from their opening five matches, so they will need to turn their form around quickly if they wish to make it into the play-offs.

They host Young Boys at MHPArena on Wednesday (20:00, TNT Sports 8), who have lost every single game so far, conceding 17 goals in the process. Read on for my Stuttgart vs Young Boys prediction, accompanied by the latest match odds and team news.

Stuttgart vs Young Boys Odds

Stuttgart are 1/3 to claim their second European victory of the season, which gives them a theoretical chance of 75%. Young Boys are valued at 15/2 to pick up their first win of the campaign, giving them an implied probability of 11.8%.

Both teams to score is on offer at 4/7 and it has landed in three of Stuttgart's Champions League clashes to date, with one coming on home soil. Over 2.5 goals has landed in four of Young Boys' five matches so far, and it is 1/3 for this trend to continue on Wednesday.

Football Odds

Team News

Stuttgart are anticipated to be without the services of Ameen Al Dakhil, Dan-Axel Zagadou, Deniz Undav, El Bilal Toure, Jamie Leweling and Luca Raimund for this contest due to respective injury issues.

In Undav's absence, Ermedin Demirovic will be tasked with delivering the goods in front of goal. The Bosnian has netted seven goals in 13 matches in the Bundesliga but has just the one in the Champions League so far. He will be hoping for a return to the scoresheet against one of the worst-performing defences in the competition.

Alex Nubel should maintain his place between the sticks as Sebastian Hoeness' first-choice shot-stopper. He's likely to be shielded by centre-backs Jeff Chabot and Anthony Rouault, while Maximilian Mittelstadt is expected to be the left-back once again.

We could also see Leonidas Stergiou operate on the right side of the back line. He may naturally be a centre-back but he has been deployed on the right in recent games, presumably to tighten up the defence.

Angelo Stiller and Atakan Karazor will likely patrol the midfield again. Chris Fuhrich, Enzo Millot and Josha Vagnoman will be expected to play the supporting cast behind front man Demirovic. Although, after scoring twice from the bench in the 3-2 win over Union Berlin at the weekend, Nick Woltemade could be in line for a promotion to the starting lineup.

Young Boys are missing Ebrima Colley, Facinet Conte, Miguel Chaiwa, Sadin Crnovrsanin, Saidy Janko and Tanguy Zoukrou due to various injuries. Changes could be afoot for this match after the Swiss side were beaten 3-1 by Sion in the Swiss Super League as their title defence continues to worsen.

Stuttgart and both teams to score @ 13/10

Looking at Young Boys' record so far, Stuttgart will be feeling that they have a golden opportunity to put three points on the board on home soil, which could be huge heading into the final two games of the league phase.

The injuries won't help in this instance but the visitors are missing players too, so they should still have enough quality to beat the side planted at the bottom of the table and who keep leaking goals.

Hoeness' men will be out to deliver a response after they were hammered 5-1 by another struggling side in Red Star Belgrade a couple of weeks ago, which they certainly cannot afford to happen against Wednesday's opponents.

They have shown improvements in the league in recent weeks with two wins and a draw in their last three outings. This sets them up nicely for this crunch European clash. Young Boys will believe they have an opportunity after seeing the hosts' last result in this competition, but it doesn't hide the fact that they have been poor this season, and there fortunes don't look like they will be changing any time soon.

I think Stuttgart will have enough to get the win they need, but question marks remain over their defence, so I could see Young Boys picking up yet another consolation goal, which they've managed in their last two European ties.

Ermedin Demirovic anytime goalscorer @ 5/6

There will be a lot of pressure on this man's shoulders without the added threat of Undav but after netting seven times already in the Bundesliga, Demirovic will feel he can add to his European tally against Young Boys.

He netted the consolation goal against Red Star which would have given him an individual boost given the circumstances, and that should serve him well for this home clash against a side with a fragile defence.

The striker has scored three times in his last four appearances across all competitions, too, so he is in a bit of a rhythm heading into Wednesday. This feels like the kind of game in which he will step up and deliver, and I'm backing him to do just that.

Offers

Acca Flex: Place a pre-match 5+ leg Football accumulator and get a CASH bonus up to 100% if all of your selections win or your money back as CASH if one leg lets you down

You can read all our latest Football Betting Tips at our dedicated Betfred Insights content hub.