After a successful last season, things aren't good as well for the hosts in this one. VfB Stuttgart currently stands at the sixteenth place, just one point safe from direct relegation. They will welcome FSV Mainz, who are having a solid start to the campaign. Bo Svensson's men are eight-placed, and are one of the best defensive teams in the league. Mainz conceded only twelve times this season, being the league's third-best defense. However, seven of those were away from home, as Mainz lost three of their five visits so far. Stuttgart was the winner in the previous two meetings between these two teams, winning 4-1 and 2-0.

The hosts are coming from a 2-1 away defeat to the second-placed Borussia Dortmund, which was expected. Injuries have been the main reason for this season's poor results, but things should be better for head coach Pellegrino Matarazzo as some starters return for this duel. The Reds will miss Sasa Kalajdzic, Tanguy Coulibaly, and Marc Oliver Kempf ahead of the upcoming game. Matarazzo's side won its latest home match, a 1-0 friendly game vs. Zurich. His squad played solid offensive football last season, but were always vulnerable while defending. Stuttgart and Mainz scored the same amount of goals so far, sixteen, but the hosts conceded ten more than the opponent. Seven of Stuttgart's ten points were earned at home, which puts hope and confidence for the Reds ahead of this clash.

The guests are without Dominik Kohr, Anderson Lucoqui, Jeremiah St. Juste, Niklas Tauer, and Stefan Bell, which certainly lowers their chances of winning here. Mainz's previous two games ended 1-1, against FC Koln and Borussia Monchengladbach. I can see the visitors dropping points vs. Stuttgart. I expect the hosts to take at least a point in the Friday night meeting. Good luck!

本译文使用有道机器翻译，仅供参考：

在经历了一个成功的上个赛季后，东道主的情况就不那么好了。斯图加特目前排在第16位，仅差一分就可以直接降级。他们将欢迎美因茨队，他们在比赛中有一个稳定的开局。博·斯文森的球队排在第八位，是联盟中防守最好的球队之一。美因茨本赛季仅失球12次，是联盟第三强的防守者。然而，其中7人不在家，因为美因茨失去了5次访问中的3次。斯图加特在这两支球队之前的两次交锋中都以4比1和2比0获胜。

东道主在客场2-1负于排名第二的多特蒙德，这是意料之中的。伤病是本赛季战绩不佳的主要原因，但对于主教练佩莱格里诺·马塔拉佐来说，情况应该会好一些，因为一些首发球员将在这场对决中回归。在即将到来的比赛之前，红军将会想念莎莎·卡拉季奇、桑吉·古里巴利和马克·奥利弗·肯夫。马塔拉佐的球队在最近的一场主场友谊赛中以1比0战胜了苏黎世。他的球队上个赛季的进攻很稳固，但防守时总是很脆弱。到目前为止，斯图加特和美因茨的进球数相同，都是16个，但东道主比对手多丢了10个球。斯图加特的10分中有7分是在主场取得的，这给红军在这场比赛前带来了希望和信心。

客队没有多米尼克·科尔、安德森·卢科基、耶利米·圣·贾斯特、尼克拉斯·陶尔和斯特凡·贝尔，这无疑降低了他们在这里获胜的机会。美因茨之前的两场比赛都以1-1结束，分别对阵科隆和门兴格拉德巴赫。我能预见到客队在对阵斯图加特时失分。我希望东道主在周五晚上的会议上至少提出一点意见。好运！