Using the same starting eleven that had led Eintracht to last weeks 4-1 Borussia Mönchengladbach, Friedhelm Funkel went forward with confidence against Stuttgart. With full knowledge that the VfB has been one of the hottest clubs in the Bundesliga since Markus Babbel took over at the end of November the first course of action was to limit their attack.
After a good opening thirty minutes in which Stuttgart was unable to breakdown Eintracht, the hosts broke through on their first major effort as Cacau edged Ludovic Magnin's cross to the back of the net. Eintracht was unable to find the needed leveler and a few minutes into the new half they were victimized for their first major defending error as Mario Gómez received Martin Lanig’s free-kick in the box before sending the ball in. Despite continued efforts Eintracht could not break through and lost 2-0.
Of the positives, Zlatan Bajramović was showing good movement and helping to create spaces with Alexander Meier after coming in at the break. With Borussia Dortmund coming to Waldstadion next Saturday, the overall health and play of the Bosnian looks like he is ready for a full ninety minutes.