- Team form: At home, VfB Stuttgart II are unbeaten in three matches, with one win and two draws.
- Away form: SC Rot-Weiss Essen have won one and lost one of their last two away matches.
- Home record: Stuttgart II have won eight, drawn four and lost five at home in 3.Liga 2025-2026, averaging 1.47 goals scored and 1.35 conceded.
Rot-Weiss Essen are heading in the right direction
Match context
14th placed VfB Stuttgart II will host third placed SC Rot-Weiss Essen in a clash of the 3.Liga’s middle and top-three clubs, respectively, on Saturday. The visitors are the higher-placed side and have been the most consistent this season, and they will be desperate to win this match to send a message to the rest of the league.
Stuttgart’s approach
Stuttgart II have only claimed 43 points from their 35 matches in 3.Liga 2025-2026, but Nico Willig’s team is focused on the development of young talent and have done this by employing a flexible, high-tempo style of play that can adapt to any scenario. The ‘Young Lions’ set out to press the ball, recover it and transition into vertical attacks in high numbers.
Rot-Weiss Essen’s approach and form
Rot-Weiss Essen, on the other hand, have a much more pragmatic approach to playing soccer. Uwe Koschinat is a tactically adaptable boss who has instilled a physical, results-oriented mindset to his squad and they are set up to play to their opponents' weaknesses. The visitors have won three of their last five matches, losing back-to-back matches in between, and they will enter this one with the mindset of taking points from the game no matter how.
Goals and an away win are expected in Essen
Players to watch
He’s a consistent outlet for his team and they will look to get the ball to him as often as possible. The main difference between these two clubs, and indeed their philosophies, could create an end-to-end, high-energy match, but with the superior league position, more potent attack and better recent away record, we’re going to back SC Rot-Weiss Essen to take the points with a goal-laden affair.
The odds of 1.81 for an away win look low, but we will go for them alongside over 2.5 goals and both teams to score at 1.36 and 1.39.
- Stuttgart II’s Noah Darvich has bagged 10 goals in 26 league appearances this term to top score for the club, but he has had some support recently, with Julian Lueers providing three assists in the last five games, helping his side to score nine times in that run.
- Rot-Weiss Essen have the luxury of having an out-and-out striker in Marek Janssen, who has 12 goals in 28 appearances in 3.Liga 2025-2026.
