Match Report: VfB Stuttgart vs. Mainz

To kick off Matchday 19 of the 2020/21 Bundesliga campaign, relegation stragglers Mainz paid a visit to Baden-Württemberg, where they would take on Stuttgart at the Mercedes-Benz Arena. Since earning promotion to the top flight last season, Die Schwaben have been one of the Bundesliga's revelations, having taken points off the likes of Borussia Mönchengladbach and Borussia Dortmund. On the other hand, Mainz faced an uphill battle after parting ways with star striker Jean-Philippe Mateta, who joined Crystal Palace on loan with an option to buy.

Pellegrino Matarazzo had his young Stuttgart team pressing in their usual 5-3-2/3-5-2 off the ball with 22-year-old Nicolás González in the 10. Target man Sasa Kalajdžić played slightly to the left up front, with Gonzalo Castro (substituted for Philipp Forster after 25 minutes) also playing in the forward line off the ball. On the ball, they formed more of a 3-4-2-1 shape, with González and Castro acting as two number 10s. Similarities of their structure, on and off the ball, can be made to that of Graham Potter’s Brighton.

Stuttgart’s main pressing triggers were those we’ve become familiar with – wing back pressing the opposition full-back when receiving the ball, cutting out the passing lane to the winger. The away side played with three imposing, physical centre backs, with Konstantinos Mavropanos particularly showing strong aerial dominance when defending crosses.