Stuttgart's 2-0 win at Paderborn on Saturday steadied the ship after back-to-back Bundesliga defeats, lifting the club to tenth in the table with six points from five games. The result matters because it halted a slide that had raised real questions about Sebastian Hoeneß's side, who had lost to Dortmund and Hoffenheim in the league before finding their footing in Ostwestfalen. The victory offers a measure of relief, though it does not mask the inconsistency that has defined Stuttgart's early season.

Off the pitch, the bigger story may be brewing in the boardroom. As reported by kicker and covered by GOAL, Stuttgart face a significant contract crunch, with eight players including Angelo Stiller, Chris Führich, Maximilian Mittelstädt and Josha Vagnoman all tied to deals expiring in 2028. The club's wage bill has risen sharply, and renewing all of them would, in the words of the kicker report, blow the budget. Talks with most of those players have been shelved until at least January, when Stuttgart's league position will likely shape the club's financial ambitions.

In attack, Dzenan Pejcinovic remains a concern. The 25-million-euro summer signing from Wolfsburg has gone scoreless in the Bundesliga despite a bright start in the cup, and his omission from Jürgen Klopp's Germany squad for the Nations League underlined the need for improvement. Stuttgart next travel to face Slovan Bratislava in the Champions League on Tuesday, a fixture that offers another chance to build momentum before the heavier tests ahead.