German outfit Stuttgart, fresh off the sacking of manager Markus Babbel, take to the pitch on Wednesday needing a victory over Romanian side Unirea to finish second in Champions League Group G.
Babbel was sacked after Saturday's 1-1 draw with Bochum, a result that saw Stuttgart fall into the Bundesliga's relegation zone. They have just two wins in 15 league games this season.
In the Champions League, they sit two points adrift of Unirea, who held Stuttgart to a 1-1 draw on Matchday 2. Unirea need only avoid defeat in Germany to advance to the round of 16 in their maiden Champions League campaign. They were 3-2 winners over Ceahlaul at the weekend, sending them into a four-way tie for first place in Liga I.
For new Stuttgart manager Christian Gross - the man who led FC Basel for the last 10 seasons - Thomas Hitzlsperger will be unavailable with a leg injury, along with Martin Lanig. Cacau could play as he recovers from a groin injury, and Zdravko Kuzmanovic and Sami Khedira are also doubts.
Unirea will not have influential defender Vasile Maftei due to suspension, and midfielder Ricardo will also miss out with injury for Dan Petrescu's side. George Galamaz is a doubt.
It will be interesting to see how Stuttgart react to the hiring of Gross as the team's new manager. Expect a strong performance at home as Stuttgart look to squeak into the knockout rounds.
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