Arminia Bielefeld take on Stuttgart in the Bundesliga on Wednesday, with the hosts looking to remain outside of the relegation zone.

Stuttgart, meanwhile, have dropped into the bottom half of the table, but have performed remarkably well on the road in their first season back in Germany's top flight.

Match preview

There has been an added pragmatism on display at Arminia in recent matches, with Uwe Neuhaus's side only conceding twice in their last four league games.

While it has not been as pleasing on the eye as their early performances in the campaign, it has helped them pick up more points, with their tally (seven) in those four matches matching that of their first 12 games of the season.

Surviving relegation is the only aim for a club competing in the Bundesliga for the first time since the 2008-09 season, with 0-0 draws like the one Neuhaus's side earned at Hoffenheim on Saturday the type of result which can be the difference between getting over the line or not come the end of the season.

As Arminia have often found so far following their step up in level, chances come at a premium for a team with their budget and ability, so they may require Fabian Klos or Sergio Cordova to be more clinical in the coming weeks.

Stuttgart were promoted alongside Arminia last season, but do not appear to share their concerns of being relegated after a superb start to the season.

Pellegrino Matarazzo's side have slowed down in recent matches, though, winning only one of their last five league games as Saturday's 2-2 draw with Borussia Monchengladbach ensured that they are still awaiting their first home win of the campaign.

However, no side has picked up more points away from home than Stuttgart's impressive tally of 17 points from their eight games on the road, which will be of huge concern to Arminia.

With the likes of Nicolas Gonzalez and Silas Wamangituka in confident form after adding to their tallies in the draw with Gladbach, there is every chance they can extend their away points total to 20 for the campaign on Wednesday.

Arminia Bielefeld Bundesliga form: LLWLWD

Stuttgart Bundesliga form: WDLLWD
Stuttgart form (all competitions): DLWLWD

Team News

Arminia are likely to remain without Manuel Prietl, Noel Niemann and Andreas Voglsammer for the visit of Stuttgart, with the trio expected to return from injury at the end of January.

Neuhaus will probably elect to choose the same XI which has remained competitive in every match of late.

Stuttgart, meanwhile, will not travel to Bielefeld with Maxime Awoudja, Clinton Mola, Lilian Egloff or Hamadi Al Ghaddioui due to injury.

After being heavily prominent in Matarazzo's plans in the early weeks of the season, Tanguy Coulibaly may be given the nod to start alongside Gonzalez having only been used from the bench in recent matches.

Arminia Bielefeld possible starting lineup:
Ortega; Brunner, Pieper, Nilsson, Laursen; Doan, Hartel, Kunze, Yabo; Klos, Cordova

Stuttgart possible starting lineup:
Kobel; Stenzel, Anton, Kempf; Wamangituka, Mangala, Endo, Castro, Sosa; Coulibaly, Gonzalez

We say: Arminia Bielefeld 1-3 Stuttgart

We can envisage Stuttgart's magnificent away form continuing at Bielefeld, who are rarely heavily beaten but may not have enough about them to cope with the visitors' counter-attacking threat.

Indeed, with Gonzalez providing the flair in central areas and Wamangituka the penetration from a wider area, they are a tough opponent for anyone on their day.

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