Match Information
Match Overview
Bayer Leverkusen host VfB Stuttgart at the BayArena on October 31 in Regular Season - 8 of the Bundesliga, a matchday that gives the season a clearer shape. Leverkusen arrive in fourth place, while Stuttgart sit 15th, so the league table puts the hosts in the stronger position going into the fixture.
The primary factor is the contrast in recent league form. Leverkusen won two of their last three Bundesliga matches before the October 25 trip to Hoffenheim, where they lost 3-0. That followed a 2-1 home win over SC Freiburg on October 18 and a 4-3 win at FSV Mainz 05 on October 10. Stuttgart have lost their last two league games: 1-0 at Hamburger SV on October 17 and 3-2 at home to Borussia Mönchengladbach on October 23. Their most recent league win in the data came at SC Paderborn 07 on October 10, by 2-0.
The secondary factor is the head-to-head record, which favors the visitors. Stuttgart won both meetings in 2026, 4-1 at the BayArena on January 10 and 3-1 at home on May 9. Before that, Leverkusen won 4-3 in Stuttgart on March 16, 2025. Of the ten listed meetings, Stuttgart have won two, Leverkusen three and five were drawn, so the fixture often tightens up. Both sides also have European commitments: Leverkusen played in the Europa League on October 22, and Stuttgart faced Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on October 20.
Neither club has any reported unavailable players, so both managers, Carles Martínez for Leverkusen and S. Hoeneb for Stuttgart, can select from full squads. Both sides used a 4-2-3-1 in their last games.
This is a meeting between a top-four side coming off a heavy defeat and a struggling side searching for a first league win since October 10.
Predicted Lineups
Bayer Leverkusen
M. Flekken; J. Quansah, E. Tapsoba, F. Medina, Miguel Gutiérrez; Aleix García, E. Fernández, M. Diaby, I. Maza, N. Tella; P. Schick
VfB Stuttgart
D. Seimen; L. Assignon, Finn Jeltsch, R. Hendriks, M. Mittelstädt; A. Stiller, A. Karazor, L. Sauer, D. Pejčinović, C. Führich; E. Demirović
Team Form Analysis
Bayer Leverkusen
League Position: 4Bayer Leverkusen Form Analysis
Leverkusen have won four of their last five matches in all competitions, with the one defeat coming in their most recent outing, 3-0 away at 1899 Hoffenheim on October 25. That result stands out against an otherwise strong run.
The attack has been productive. They scored four at FSV Mainz 05 on October 10, four at Lech Poznan on October 15 in the UEFA Europa League, two against SC Freiburg on October 18 and two at OFI on October 22. That is 12 goals in five matches, an average of 2.4 per game.
The defensive record is less secure. Leverkusen conceded three at Mainz and one against Freiburg, then were shut out and beaten by three at Hoffenheim. They kept clean sheets in both Europa League matches, 4-0 at Lech Poznan and 2-0 at OFI, but conceded in each of their three Bundesliga games in this run.
In the league, the sequence reads win, win, loss. The three Bundesliga fixtures included two away trips, so the home win over Freiburg is the one data point for how they perform at the BayArena this season.
VfB Stuttgart
League Position: 15VfB Stuttgart Form Analysis
Stuttgart's trajectory has turned negative. After winning 2-0 at SC Paderborn 07 on October 10 and 3-0 at Slovan Bratislava in the UEFA Champions League on October 14, they have lost two Bundesliga games in a row. The first was a 1-0 defeat at Hamburger SV on October 17, and the second a 3-2 home loss to Borussia Mönchengladbach on October 23. In between, they drew 1-1 at home with Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on October 20.
Their attacking output across the five matches is nine goals, with six of them coming in the two away wins. Defensively, they conceded five goals in the last three matches in all competitions, including three against Mönchengladbach, and kept clean sheets in the Paderborn and Bratislava wins.
The schedule has been demanding, with a Champions League match sitting between the two league defeats. Stuttgart's league form is the concern: one win and two losses in the three Bundesliga matches shown, which fits with their 15th place in the table.
Head-to-Head
Bayer Leverkusen
VfB Stuttgart
Recent Meetings
| Date | Home | Score | Away |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-05-09 | VfB Stuttgart | 3 - 1 | Bayer Leverkusen |
| 2026-01-10 | Bayer Leverkusen | 1 - 4 | VfB Stuttgart |
| 2025-03-16 | VfB Stuttgart | 3 - 4 | Bayer Leverkusen |
| 2024-11-01 | Bayer Leverkusen | 0 - 0 | VfB Stuttgart |
| 2024-08-17 | Bayer Leverkusen | 2 - 2 4-3 pens | VfB Stuttgart |
| 2024-04-27 | Bayer Leverkusen | 2 - 2 | VfB Stuttgart |
| 2024-02-06 | Bayer Leverkusen | 3 - 2 | VfB Stuttgart |
| 2023-12-10 | VfB Stuttgart | 1 - 1 | Bayer Leverkusen |
| 2023-05-14 | VfB Stuttgart | 1 - 1 | Bayer Leverkusen |
| 2022-11-12 | Bayer Leverkusen | 2 - 0 | VfB Stuttgart |
Memorable Matches
The most recent meetings have gone Stuttgart's way. They won 4-1 at the BayArena on January 10, 2026, and followed that with a 3-1 home victory on May 9, 2026, giving them a two-game winning streak in the fixture.
Before that, the clubs produced a seven-goal contest on March 16, 2025, when Leverkusen won 4-3 at Stuttgart. A 3-2 Leverkusen win at the BayArena on February 6, 2024 was also close.
The period from 2023 to 2024 produced several draws, including 2-2 at the BayArena on both April 27, 2024 and August 17, 2024, and a 0-0 on November 1, 2024. Those results show how often this fixture has been tightly contested.
Venue Factor
The BayArena hosts this Matchday 8 fixture, and Leverkusen's only home match in the recent data is the 2-1 Bundesliga win over SC Freiburg on October 18. That is too small a sample to define a home record, so the venue edge is best judged by the table position of the hosts, who are fourth.
Injury Concerns
Bayer Leverkusen
VfB Stuttgart
