- Essen have won three, drawn one and lost just one of their last five 3.Liga matches.
- Stuttgart II have won two, drawn one and lost two of their last five 3.Liga games.
- Essen have won four, drawn two and lost only two of their eight home league games to date.
Two sides of the coin, two distinct club missions
Essen have 29 points from 16 matches, putting them in fourth spot ahead of Stuttgart II, who have 25 from the same number of games. Neither of these sides have won their last two games against each other, drawing 1-1 at VfB Stuttgart II in the corresponding fixture six months ago.
The clubs have similar points tallies, but the importance of Friday’s clash is greater to Essen than Stuttgart II, who are more concerned with the development of their players, and that could be the difference between the sides.
Uwe Koschinat has done an excellent job since taking over in December 2024, inculcating a pragmatic, results-driven culture at SC Rot-Weiss Essen. Nico Willig’s appointment to VfB Stuttgart II in July 2025 saw him arrive with a clear philosophy to develop his young players in the 3.Liga with a patient, possession-based approach and the tactical differences between the two sides should make for an interesting matchup, as highlighted in our SC Rot-Weiss Essen vs VfB Stuttgart II prediction.
Essen should edge the contest against the young Reds
The hosts bounced back from a 2-3 home defeat to Energie Cottbus with a 3-2 away win at Saarbruecken last weekend. Marvin Obuz remains the best creative option in the squad, with three assists in his last five games as Essen hit ten goals in total, but the goal stats are led by Kaito Mizuta’s five goals in 16 league appearances this term.
This SC Rot-Weiss Essen vs VfB Stuttgart II preview suggests that Stuttgart II have had a less consistent spell of late, taking four points from their last three away games, including a 0-0 draw at Erzgebirge Aue prior to a 2-1 win over TSV Havelse at home last weekend. Mansour Ouro-Tagba has been in fine form for Stuttgart II this term, scoring four of their last eight league goals.
Willig likes to set his sides up in a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 formation with players that can collectively press and move the ball out of the back four with patience. In addition, our SC Rot-Weiss Essen vs VfB Stuttgart II prediction is that Koschinat’s side are a more direct and transition-based unit that could punish Stuttgart II’s leaky away defense, particularly on the counter attack.
As for the SC Rot-Weiss Essen vs VfB Stuttgart II betting tips, backing Essen to win at 1.78 looks the way to go given the odds, the home form and the pragmatism of the hosts. A draw is 4.0 and Stuttgart II are 3.8, so all three bets could come in.
