All to play for in Stuttgart

Two sides on the cusp of qualifying for the knockout stage meet at the Gottlieb-Daimler stadium as VfB Stuttgart host NK Dinamo Zagreb for the second time in UEFA club competitions.

Stuttgart success
The clubs were paired together in the second round of the 1989/90 UEFA Cup, and Stuttgart took the lead at Zagreb with a 3-1 win thanks to goals from current German national coach Jürgen Klinsmann, Fritz Walter and Michael Schröder, who took them to a 3-0 lead before home forward Drazen Bezek grabbed a consolation. In the return leg, Radmilo Mihajlovic closed the gap even further with a 62nd minute goal before Walter eased Stuttgart worries with an equaliser six minutes later, as Stuttgart advanced 4-2 on aggregate. The Germans reached the final where they lost to Diego Maradona’s SSC Napoli 5-4 on aggregate.

Mixed fortunes
Stuttgart have played two other Croatian teams in UEFA club competitions. In 1981/82 the Germans were eliminated by HNK Hajduk Split from the UEFA Cup at the first round stage by 5-2 on aggregate, while in 2002, Stuttgart advanced to the finals of the UEFA Intertoto Cup after winning both games against FK Slaven Koprivnica in the semi-final. Two goals from Thomas Schneider gave Stuttgart a 2-1 home win, and Sean Dundee scored the only goal of the return leg, as Stuttgart went on to beat LOSC Lille Métropole in their final. The German side defend an unbeaten home record of one win and two draws against Croatian clubs, and an overall record of three wins, two draws and one loss in their six previous games.

Dinamo defeats
But Dinamo have yet to beat a German club in UEFA club competitions. The Croatians have lost their three previous ties, where the six games have produced two draws and four defeats. Besides the games with Stuttgart, Dinamo lost both legs to FC Schalke 04 by 3-1 and 1-0 in the quarter-finals of the 1969/70 UEFA Cup, while their other meeting was with a club then based in the German Democratic Republic, namely 1. FC Magdeburg. The two sides met in the second round of the 1976/77 UEFA Cup, and after losing the first leg 2-0 in Magdeburg, the Croatians were held 2-2 at home despite two goals from Zlatko Kranjcar. The former striker is now the Croatian national team coach, while his son is the current Dinamo captain.

State of play: Group G 
SL Benfica have qualified and VfB Stuttgart will follow them through if they avoid defeat at home to NK Dinamo Zagreb. The German side could lose and still advance if SC Heerenveen fail to win at home to KSK Beveren, who are already out. Dinamo are ahead of Heerenveen on goal difference and are sure to qualify if they match the Dutch club's result against Beveren. A draw will take Heerenveen through should Dinamo lose.