VfB Stuttgart vs Borussia Dortmund: DFB-Pokal team news, preview

Borussia Dortmund must overcome the challenge of VfB Stuttgart away from home in order to make it to the quarterfinals of the DFB-Pokal.

The Black and Yellows will return to the scene of their worst performance of the season so far on Wednesday as they take on VfB Stuttgart with a place in the DFB-Pokal quarterfinals on the line. BVB will have to be at their very best in order to stop the in-form Stuttgart strike duo of Serhou Guirassy and Deniz Undav.

Borussia Dortmund defended deep and laboured to a 1-1 draw against Bayer Leverkusen on Sunday. And Edin Terzic may look to employ similar defensive tactics against Stuttgart as he looks to avoid a repeat of the shambolic performance his side produced when the two teams met in the Bundesliga last month.

While the form book doesn't count for much in the DFB-Pokal, Stuttgart will go into Wednesday's game as slight favourites. Borussia Dortmund have enough individual quality in their ranks to beat Sebastian Hoeneß's side, but they will need to dig deep if they want to progress in the DFB-Pokal.

BVB have been dealing with an illness bug over the last week, and will hope to welcome Niklas Süle, Ramy Bensebaini and Salih Özcan back into the squad on Wednesday. Nico Schlotterbeck is a doubt after being forced off with a muscular issue during the draw against Bayer Leverkusen. Sebastien Haller is dealing with a minor knee issue, while Gio Reyna has a cold.

Stuttgart will be without Hiroki Ito, who will be sidelined until the winter break due to a muscle injury. Strikers Guirassy and Undav are in excellent form at the moment and will look to make a telling impact once again for Stuttgart on Wednesday.

VfB Stuttgart vs Borussia Dortmund: Expected Starting Lineups

VfB Stuttgart: Nübel - Vagnoman, Anton, Zagadou, Mittelstädt - Karazor, Millot - Silas, Führich - Undav, Guirassy

Borussia Dortmund: Kobel - Ryerson, Hummels, Schlotterbeck, Bensebaini - Can, Sabitzer, Brandt - Reus, Adeyemi - Füllkrug