Stuttgart's Bundesliga campaign is in serious trouble. Six points from seven games leaves them 15th in the table, and the manner of recent defeats has sharpened concern around the club. A 2:3 home loss to bottom-side Borussia Mönchengladbach was the lowest point so far, prompting coach Sebastian Hoeneß to tighten his grip on the squad. Training sessions are now longer and more intense, individual errors are addressed in front of the full group rather than privately, and no starting place is guaranteed.

Captain Deniz Undav sits at the centre of the anxiety. The striker has scored just once in eleven competitive appearances this season and is yet to find the net in the Bundesliga. Lothar Matthäus said publicly that Undav has lost his natural ease since taking the armband, suggesting the added responsibility may be weighing on him rather than lifting him.

Against that backdrop, a 1:0 DFB-Pokal win at Paderborn on 28 October provided some relief. It was a narrow victory, but a winning one, and Stuttgart will need to carry that confidence into a difficult Bundesliga trip to Bayer Leverkusen on 31 October. The contrast with their Champions League form remains striking. Seven points from three group-stage games shows a team capable of competing at the highest level. Translating that into consistent domestic results is the challenge Hoeneß must now solve.