Bayer Leverkusen – VfB Stuttgart

Recent form · Written before the match

The partial archives record Bayer’s pre-match victories over Freiburg (2-1, 18 October 2026), Mainz (4-3, 10 October), Leipzig (2-0, 20 September) and Union Berlin (4-0, 5 September), as well as a draw at Augsburg (2-2, 12 September). The victory over Freiburg is corroborated by Bayer on 19 October.

Bayer also won 2-0 at OFI Crete in the Europa League on 22 October, which adds to its schedule. Stuttgart lost 0-1 at Hamburg on 17 October and won 2-0 at Paderborn on 10 October; the archives also mention defeats against Dortmund (0-1) and Hoffenheim (1-2), followed by a victory against Köln (4-1).

The quality of chances, shots and pressing are not comparable over the same period and with the same provider.

Head-to-head · Written before the match

No recent Bayer Leverkusen-Stuttgart head-to-head with a date and score was extracted in a verifiable manner from the pages consulted. It is therefore impossible to claim that there were no meetings.

Any older head-to-heads would have limited relevance if the coaches, squads or goalkeepers have changed.

Absences and returns

For Stuttgart, Josha Vagnoman was ruled out for the match against Mönchengladbach due to a muscle injury, and Nikolas Nartey was also unavailable according to the 22 October publication. Tiago Tomás, Justin Diehl and Dan-Axel Zagadou were gradually returning to training; their availability on 31 October remains uncertain.

For Bayer, no official list of absentees, suspended players or players with uncertain starting status was found in the pages consulted. The result of Stuttgart-Mönchengladbach on 23 October is not verified here.

Context & news

Bayer can impose a positional attack and benefit from the complementarity between Maza and Schick, while its four home wins constitute the main factual support. The opposite scenario is a compact Stuttgart, disciplined in pressing and dangerous in transition, capable of exploiting turnovers or reduced freshness after Bayer's European schedule.

This reading remains conditional: Stuttgart were preparing for Atlético around structure, balance and transitions, but this statement from 19 October proves neither its exact implementation nor its effectiveness against Leverkusen. The standings stakes and qualification objectives remain unknown.

Lineups and squad

The match is scheduled in the Bundesliga, matchday 8, on Saturday 31 October 2026 at 14:30 UTC, i.e. 15:30 CET, at the BayArena. The lineups for 31 October have not been announced.

Bayer's goalkeeper and starting eleven are unknown. Maximilian Mittelstädt was available again for the match against Atlético on 19 October, without this confirming a start against Bayer.

Dennis Seimen had been named to start before Paderborn on 8 October, but this decision cannot automatically be carried over.