VfB Stuttgart goes into the cup clash on Tuesday (8:45 p.m.) with Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen as outsiders. A VfB legend still sees good chances for the Swabians – and expects a footballing spectacle.
Coach Sebastian Hoeneß’s team is “generally getting better, or is finding it easier, against teams that simply play good football, that play along, that also want to win and want to shape the game. We’ve seen that in the last few weeks,” said Timo Hildebrand at “wettbasis.com”.
In the 0-1 defeat in Bochum, for example, VfB had a “brutal difficulty. Especially against teams that put themselves at the back,” said the former Stuttgart goalkeeper. In the quarter-finals at Bayer, he is hoping for “offensive fireworks,” said Hildebrand.
Bundesliga table leaders Leverkusen away from home are “of course the toughest nut to crack” for VfB, the 2007 champions admitted: “But I think they definitely have a great chance of winning this game too.”
VfB Stuttgart: Timo Hildebrand praises “outstanding run” at Undav
Hildebrand does not identify a key player at Stuttgart. “At VfB, the collective has actually ruled the whole season. If one person has a bad day, the rest pick it up,” he said.
Hildebrand still gave special praise – to striker Deniz Undav. “He has an outstanding run. He does things, has brutal self-confidence and I think he would never have thought that himself. After half a year in the Bundesliga, he would now be considered a current national player,” said the 44-year-old.
Undav has already scored 13 goals in 17 games in the current Bundesliga season and also added five goals. The 27-year-old scored a goal in two appearances in the DFB Cup.