Bundesliga
VfB without Anton at BVB – top game for Hoeneß “huge opportunity”
Will be missing due to a yellow card suspension against BVB: Stuttgart’s Waldemar Anton. photo
© Tom Weller/dpa
VfB Stuttgart’s top game at Borussia Dortmund has become more exciting and relevant. Because after VfB’s draw against Heidenheim, the lead can continue to shrink. The captain is missing.
With a win against 1. FC Heidenheim, the third-place team in the Bundesliga would have moved within one point of second-placed FC Bayern Munich and would have maintained a comfortable lead of six points over BVB. Now the gap would shrink to one point if the Swabians lose in Dortmund on Saturday. BVB won the classic against FC Bayern in Munich 2-0 on Saturday.
Hoeneß: “Everyone knows how important Waldi is for us”
“Of course the starting position could have been a little better,” said VfB goalkeeper Alexander Nübel, who missed an own goal against Heidenheim: “Despite everything, I think the pressure is more on the other side. Mega game. We’re happy us on it.” Seven points still separate the Swabians from RB Leipzig in fifth place, which would probably no longer be enough for the Champions League at the end of the season.
A serious loss for VfB is the loss of captain and defense chief Waldemar Anton, who will have to take a break next weekend because of his fifth yellow card. VfB coach Hoeneß said it was foreseeable that the new national player would be missing at some point due to a yellow card suspension: “Of course it’s bitter for such an important game. Everyone knows how important Waldi is for us.” It would be a challenge in Dortmund to survive without Anton and the injured defenders Dan-Axel Zagadou and Anthony Rouault, said Hoeneß: “I firmly believe that we are capable of it.”
In the first half of the season, VfB played two strong games against Dortmund. First, the Swabians won the league game in their own stadium 2-1, then they defeated BVB 2-0 in the round of 16 of the DFB Cup.