VfB Stuttgart will be looking to kick off the 2026/27 season with a Pokal drive-by over 3rd division side FC Hansa Rostock, and build off their success in last year’s cup run. Can Stuttgart convincingly start another run for the trophy, or will Rostock look to topple a giant of the game in the first round?

Recent recap

Let’s start with the underdogs of this matchup. Rostock have already brought chaos into the new season with a 3-2 win over Hoffenheim II and a comeback 3-3 draw against Mannheim in the opening weeks of the 2026/27 3. Liga campaign. The Mecklenburg-Vorpommern outfit have been slowly building towards promotion back to the 2. Bundesliga, having finished 5th in back-to-back seasons, last season only missing out on a top 3 spot by 3 points.

Rostock’s cup form in recent seasons on the other hand has been largely underwhelming. Having been humiliated in the first round by Hertha Berlin 5-1 in 2024/25, Rostock repeated this feat by losing 4-0 to Hoffenheim last season (again, in the first round). You could even argue that Rostock’s penalty shootout victory against 4th division side FSV Frankfurt in the 2023/24 first round didn’t exactly give promising signs.

Coming up against higher-division opposition once again is something Rostock fans won’t be excited to see, especially if it’s a powerhouse team like Stuttgart.

Speaking of Stuttgart, Die Schwaben come into this match off a largely successful pre-season campaign that ended in 4 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss.

The Baden-Württemberg side began their pre-season with a thrashing of lower-league domestic competition (Stuttgart outscored their opponents 20-1), before facing up-and-coming Ligue 1 outfit Paris FC, which dramatically finished 2-2 after a 105th minute winner by the Parisians.

Stuttgart followed this up with a convincing 3-1 win over Premier League side Everton, before suffering a 1-0 loss in their final pre-season friendly to Fulham.

Following another cup run this past season (they only fell to eventual champions Bayern München in the final), Stuttgart will be looking to ride the momentum into this new season, where they could be poised to provide stiff opposition to the nation’s best once again.

Rostock and Stuttgart, despite being on opposite sides of the country, are no strangers to each other in competitive ties. This matchup will mark their 28th official meeting, their 4th in the Pokal (albeit, their last league meeting was all the way back in the 2007/08 Bundesliga season!).

Historically this cup fixture has been tight. In their first Pokal matchup in 2018, it was Hansa Rostock who came out on top with a 2-0 victory. The following year, Stuttgart won 1-0. Then in 2020, Stuttgart repeated their 1-0 victory. So while Stuttgart are the more victorious side in this cup fixture, Rostock has certainly made it close every time and perhaps could be looking to break the streak this time around.

The bad news for Rostock fans is that this Stuttgart side is a completely different beast compared to what they were faced 6 years ago.

In 2020/21, Stuttgart finished 9th in the Bundesliga following a stint in the 2nd division just the season before. Since then, Stuttgart have had an explosive rise to the top of the German game, finishing as high as 2nd in 2023/24 Bundesliga campaign and even winning the Pokal in 2024/25. This past season Stuttgart finished 4th, and will this season be playing among Europe’s elite in the UEFA Champions League.

Rostock on the other hand have been mired in the lower divisions since their relegation from the Bundesliga back in the 2007/08 season. While Stuttgart finished above the likes of Bayern München in 2023/24, Rostock instead were relegated to the 3rd division, where they have been ever since. If Rostock are to beat Stuttgart this time around, it will certainly be a much bigger scalping compared to their last Pokal meeting.

Team news

Rostock’s lineup will likely remain unchanged from their first 2 league matchups, with no significant losses or suspensions.

A key player to look out for is Andreas Voglsammer; in just 2 matches, the Rostock number 9 has already racked up a league-best 3 goals and 1 assist. Alongside him is new addition Bernie Lennemann, who himself has 2 goals in 2 matches (including the game-winner against Hoffenheim II).

Pair this with fortifications in the defense (notably fullbacks Niklas Kölle and Florian Bohnert), and Rostock have themselves a competitive squad that has already proven its lethality.

Stuttgart’s starting lineup is questionable at this point with some notable key players uncertain to play. This includes Jamie Leweling, as well as defensive pairing Luca Jaquez and Ramon Hendriks.

Despite these losses Stuttgart can still field their full offensive firepower: Deniz Undav, Ermedin Demirović and Chris Führich to name a few (who combined for 56 goals and assists last season), are all available to start.

Returning loanee (and now permanent signing!) Bilal El Khannouss and newly signed striker Dzenan Pejcinovic will further bolster this already stacked frontline, having combined for 13 goals last season.

On paper, Stuttgart will likely blow Die Kogge (“The Cogs”) out the water. But if Rostock can bring the mayhem that they have become so characteristic of in recent seasons, Stuttgart could have a tough outing at the Ostseestadion and potentially even see themselves sink early in the Baltic Sea port city.

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Corinthia Mes