Pellegrino Matarazzo is the name of the new man on the sidelines of VfB Stuttgart. The football teacher, who is still quite unknown in the professional scene, was introduced shortly before New Year’s Eve as the successor to the dismissed Tim Walter and is now to ensure that the Swabians still achieve the intended promotion to the Bundesliga.
The US-born son of Italian immigrants will make his debut on Wednesday evening. Then there will be a small derby for the German champions from 2007 and a highly anticipated top game.
In the Baden-Württemberg duel between VfB Stuttgart and Heidenheim, significantly lower odds on home wins are currently offered, so that the bookmakers see the home side as clear favorites.
However, the venture for the relegated Bundesliga team is by no means a sure-fire success, because the Heidenheimers are only one point in the table and one place behind VfB, who, despite only three wins from the last ten games before Christmas, managed to stay in third place.
Because with a new coach, who also had a few weeks to press his ideas into the heads of the players, a new impulse automatically affects the team, we between VfB Stuttgart and Heidenheim consider a prediction of the home win to be quite obvious. Incidentally, it would be the very first in the forthcoming fourth direct duel.
VfB Stuttgart :
For VfB Stuttgart, the season will start again next Wednesday. After a less than satisfactory first half of the season, in which the Swabians could only win half of their matches (nine out of 18), Tim Walter, who had spit big sounds in advance, had to leave.
The former Kieler was accused of insisting too much on his offensive strategy instead of focusing more on the switch game that worked well in many places. Despite the undoubted quality in the squad, the white-red have so far made too many individual mistakes, especially in the game structure, which have repeatedly led to easy goals.
Especially against teams with a stable defensive front, the punch or the pace was missing in order to regularly pose problems to the defensive lines. If the factor “bad luck” in the form of numerous undiscovered goals as well as the poor exploitation of opportunities are included in the evaluation, it becomes clear that the aspirant for the bottom line has clearly sold below the value.
With the new trainer Pellegrino Matarazzo everything should now get better. The 42-year-old once worked as an assistant coach to Julian Nagelsmann at TSG Hoffenheim and was able to gain a lot of experience during this time. Although the graduate of a mathematics degree takes up his first head coaching position, we assume that he will bring new impulses and bring the Swabian potential to bear better than his predecessor.
The preparation went very well from VfB’s point of view. All three well-known test games against FC Basel, Videoton and Dresden could be won with at least two goals difference. Mario Gomez and Co. presented themselves more enthusiastically than before and also in a good mood. If this form can be preserved, a tip on the host should pay off between VfB Stuttgart and Heidenheim.
On a positive note, it should be emphasized that the Bundesliga relegation team has won seven of the previous nine home games and that in four out of seven cases the bet on a handicap victory (-1.5) would have been successful. With the effect of the coach change and a new rapprochement with the fans, a sense of achievement also seems likely on Wednesday. Badstuber, Kalajdzic, Kaminski, Klimowicz and Mack must be injured. Castro is missing due to a ban.
Heidenheim:
While at VfB Stuttgart under the direction of the sports director Thomas Hitzelsperger, various personal details have already been exchanged on the coaching bench or in another management position, the guests of the Ostalb are pure continuity.
Coach Frank Schmidt has been in office for twelve years now and today’s CEO Holger Sanwald has been working in various functions for the club, which has been represented in the 2nd Bundesliga since 2014/2015 and is preparing to move towards the upper house in the medium term think.
However, the envisaged medium-term perspective could quickly become a short deadline, because after 18 match days, the red-blues actually have realistic chances of promotion to the Bundesliga. Marc Schnatterer and Co. are currently in fourth place. The gap to Stuttgart is only one point, so that the 1st FCH could jump in the top three again in the event of a win for the first time since the first game day.
The defensive was particularly noteworthy in the course of the season so far, with only 18 goals conceded the best value in the second division. In addition, the team of coach Frank Schmidt only suffered four defeats, which once again underlines how uncomfortable the men from Brenz are to play with.
Nevertheless, with regard to Wednesday, guests should think that only two of eight away games have been won this season (four draws, two defeats) and the fourth in the table also scored more goals at home and conceded fewer goals.
Since you can definitely be judged more strongly against a home backdrop, VfB Stuttgart vs. Heidenheim odds in favor of the home side are justified, although they may be a little too low to filter out the appropriate value. In terms of personnel, coach Schmidt can draw on unlimited resources. All actors are ready for action.
