Will the Swabians continue their winning streak?
VfB Stuttgart recorded two consecutive clean sheet victories in the UEFA Europa League, defeating Feyenoord Rotterdam (2-0) and most recently Go Ahead Eagles 4-0. This saw the Swabians climb to twelfth place in the table, just one point behind eighth place.
If VfB Stuttgart’s prediction of a home win for the German cup winners against Maccabi Tel Aviv comes true, the White and Reds could well advance to one of the coveted top eight places, which, as is well known, comes with a direct ticket to the round of 16.
Hoeneß’s team are clear favorites, as Maccabi Tel Aviv, currently second from bottom, are the visitors to Baden-Württemberg. The Israelis picked up a point against PAOK Saloniki on the first matchday (0-0), but have since lost four games in a row, conceding 14 goals and scoring just one.
Things are not going well for the Yellow-and-Blacks domestically either. On Sunday, they suffered a 0-1 defeat at Hapoel Beer Sheva. The reigning champions are currently only third in the Liga ha’Al and are already six points behind the leaders. We therefore think the Swabians, with their powerful offense, have a good chance of a comfortable victory. In our VfB Stuttgart vs. Maccabi Tel Aviv prediction, we therefore recommend betting on VfB to win by at least two goals.
Should Stuttgart manage to win without conceding a goal, it would be the first time in three consecutive international competitive games that VfB has recorded a victory without conceding a goal.
VfB Stuttgart – Maccabi Tel Aviv Head-to-head record
Head to head: 0 – 0 – 0
The two teams have never met before in a European competitive match. For VfB Stuttgart, this is only their second match against an Israeli club since a clear 4-0 win against Hapoel Haifa in the 1996 UEFA Intertoto Cup. Maccabi Tel Aviv, on the other hand, has faced Bundesliga opposition six times, but has only won one of those six games (one draw, four defeats).
VfB Stuttgart – Maccabi Tel Aviv Prediction
The Swabians were crushed 5-0 by Bayern Munich, who are in a league of their own, in the Bundesliga at the weekend. However, they have won two consecutive clean-sheet victories in the Europa League, bringing their points tally to nine and putting a top-eight finish within reach again.
With eight points less, the visitors from Israel are in second-to-last place. The Yellow-and-Blacks have lost their last four Europa League games with a goal difference of 1:14 and are likely to have a tough time against the German cup winners. Accordingly, there is no alternative to predicting that Hoeneß’s team will take all three points in VfB Stuttgart’s match against Maccabi Tel Aviv.
We also expect this to be a one-sided affair, which is why there is a lot of value in the -1 handicap on the home team. The odds for VfB Stuttgart to win this home game by at least two goals are 1.57, which we are betting on with five out of ten units at Betano.
