Trainer Bruno Labbadia made one change to the eleven that began in the 2-0 win against Hoffenheim, with Zdravko Kuzmanovic returning to replace the injured Pavel Pogrebnyak – which also saw a switch in system from 4-4-2 to 4-2-3-1.

Some 4,300 travelling fans saw Stuttgart get off to a less than perfect start and VfB found themselves trailing with just nine minutes in the clock. Timmy Simons had no problems driving the ball home from eleven meters out after VfB failed to clear their lines from a corner. As the half continued, FCN maintained the upper hand but rarely looked at all threatening. Chances for VfB remained a rarity as the half drew to a close and, with Jens Hegeler hammering a free kick over the crossbar, Nürnberg took their narrow lead into the break.

‘Kuz’ levels the scores
From the re-start, VfB looked immediately more determined than they had throughout the first 45 minutes and, following an initial strike by Kuzmanovic, the Serbian international was soon called upon to take on the responsibility from the penalty spot. A shot from Harnik had struck the hand of Philipp Wollscheid and the referee immediately pointed to the spot – where ‘Kuz’ made no mistake and put his side back on level terms.

A little over ten minutes later though, Bruno Labbadia’s men found themselves behind again. Marvin Plattenhardt floated in a free kick and Wollscheid rose highest in the centre to head FCN into a 2-1 lead. For the final quarter hour, Labbadia opted to switch to a 4-4-2 system and introduced Christoph Hemlein, in place of Okazaki, for his Bundesliga debut.