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Stuttgart's six-pointer

Ross DunbarSeptember 22, 2015

Despite their terrible start to the season, Stuttgart aren't quite pressing the panic button just yet. But three points are a must for Alexander Zorniger against winless Hannover on Wednesday.

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Bundesliga VfB Stuttgart FC Schalke 04
Image: Getty Images/Alexander Hassenstein/Bongarts

After only five matchdays, it may seem premature to label Stuttgart's trip to Hannover as a six-pointer, but the game carries that sort of importance. Both teams are without a league win this season, and Stuttgart have failed to earn single point. Only nine teams have ever lost their first five games in the Bundesliga.

The irony is: Stuttgart have played very well. The team has been forcing the tempo, and players like Timo Werner, Alexandru Maxim, Daniel Didavi and Daniel Ginczek are carving out plenty of scoring chances. Coach Alexander Zorniger, whose appointment this summer raised fans' hopes of a mid-table finish, has done a pretty good job thus far.

The problem is that the Swabians cannot find the back of the net. "If we had four, five or six points right now," Zorniger said, "everyone would be saying that we are on the right track and that something really good is growing."

Stuttgart has created 32 scoring opportunities - well above the average for the German top flight. But having scored just five goals, their chance conversion rate is one of the poorest in the division. Stuttgart take 11.6 shots per goal, while Eintracht Frankfurt and Borussia Dortmund by comparison need just over three attempts to hit the net.

Trusting the coach

Bundesliga VfL Stuttgart FC Schalke 04
Ginczek, former Bochum and Dortmund striker, can't wrestle clear to scoreImage: Getty Images/AFP/T. Kienzle

After Sunday's 1-0 loss at home to Schalke, where Stuttgart had 26 attempts at goal, Zorniger said his side did "almost everything right". The Swabians' lead striker Daniel Ginczek blew six chances, missing from almost every angle imaginable. Martin Harnik was no better: everything the Austrian touches in the six-yard box seems paranormally wayward. He may be trying too hard and miscuing what should be simple finishes.

Despite his front line's profligacy, Zorniger is staying positive.

"The belief is there," Stuttgart's coach told reporters in his post-game remarks. "Now we just have to go on working and get the ball over the line next time. There is a new energy in the team. We haven't yet translated it into results, but we are on the right track.".

He has the support of sporting director Robin Dutt, who was very critical of Stuttgart's revolving-door approach to coaches when he was appointed at the beginning of this year. The team went through 11 coaches in the past decade, and no fewer than six since autumn 2013. Dutt, who himself hired Zorniger, would love to change that.

"We're training and playing really well," he told German television.

But at some point soon Zorniger will have to produce some results to match their impressive performances, or Dutt's hand will be forced.