VfB Stuttgart's Bundesliga campaign is stuttering badly. Three games in, Sebastian Hoeneß's side have collected just three points and sit 14th in the table, a position that reflects a team still searching for consistency after a turbulent summer. The 2-1 defeat at Hoffenheim on Saturday was the latest setback, a result that leaves the club with little margin for error as the season builds momentum around them.

The brightest moment of the early season came in Europe. Ermedin Demirovic scored a hat-trick in twelve minutes as Stuttgart beat Viking Stavanger 3-1 in their Champions League opener, a performance that injected some much-needed confidence into a squad that had been battered 5-1 by Bayern Munich on the opening Bundesliga weekend. That European win also underlined a growing dynamic between Demirovic and captain Deniz Undav, who contributed two assists despite his own goalless start to the season in the league.

Undav's form remains a talking point. Hoeneß has defended his captain publicly, but the striker is yet to score in four competitive appearances and is clearly not yet at full fitness, with an Achilles issue cited as a factor. Adding to the squad concerns, midfielder Angelo Stiller was forced off during the Hoffenheim loss with a knee problem, though the club confirmed on Sunday he suffered only a bruise.

Borussia Dortmund visit the MHPArena on 19 September, a fixture that now carries genuine weight for a side that cannot afford further ground to slip away.