Patrik Schick has scored in every Bundesliga game this season, and on Saturday 31 October he gets a go at the side that has turned Leverkusen vs Stuttgart into an awkward fixture for his club. Leverkusen are fourth and in decent shape under a new coach. Stuttgart are 13th at home but winning everything in the Champions League. Here is what to know before the 15:30 kick-off at the BayArena (14:30 in the UK, 10:30 Eastern).
1. Schick is on a club-record run
Six league games, six games with a goal. Bayer 04 says no Leverkusen player had ever scored in each of the opening six matches of a Bundesliga season before; Schick's winner against Freiburg on 18 October made it official. That goal, in the 76th minute after Ibrahim Maza had equalised, also gave Freiburg their first defeat of the season.
He has nine in all competitions and shares the Bundesliga scoring lead with Niclas Füllkrug on six. Last season he got 16 league goals, so this is not a flash in the pan.
2. Stuttgart have had Leverkusen's number lately
For years this fixture belonged to Leverkusen. Stuttgart went 15 competitive meetings without a win against them, a run that stretched back to April 2018. Then, in January 2026, they won 4-1 at the BayArena, with Jamie Leweling scoring twice and Deniz Undav adding a goal and two assists.
They did it again in May. Stuttgart came from behind to win 3-1 at home, through Ermedin Demirović, a Maximilian Mittelstädt penalty and Undav, and that result moved them into fourth and the Champions League while Leverkusen dropped to sixth. Stuttgart held on to that place, and Leverkusen ended up in the Europa League.
| Date | Venue | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 11 Jan 2026 | BayArena | Leverkusen 1-4 Stuttgart |
| 9 May 2026 | MHPArena | Stuttgart 3-1 Leverkusen |
3. There are two Stuttgarts this season
In the Bundesliga, Sebastian Hoeneß's side have two wins and four defeats from six games and sit one point above the relegation play-off place. They have lost to Bayern, Hoffenheim, Dortmund and, most recently, 1-0 at Hamburg, a game Hoeneß called "very bitter" because so much of his plan had worked in the first half.
Undav, now the captain, was blunter. "We have to start realizing that we're not a top team at the moment," he said after Hamburg, and the striker who scored 19 league goals last season is still waiting for his first of this one.
In Europe they look like a different team. Stuttgart beat Viking 3-1 at home, Demirović scoring a hat-trick, and won 3-0 at Slovan Bratislava, so they had six points from two games before Atlético Madrid's visit on matchday three. If you want to follow that side of their season, our Champions League streams page carries every game.
Bayer Leverkusen
Stuttgart4. Leverkusen have a new coach and a new back line
Carles Martínez Novell, who spent three seasons as Toulouse head coach, replaced Kasper Hjulmand in June. His start was rough, a 3-2 defeat at Elversberg on the opening day. Since then Leverkusen have won four and drawn one in the league, including 4-3 at Mainz and 2-0 against RB Leipzig, and they have won both Europa League games without conceding.
The squad turned over again. Piero Hincapié went to Arsenal and Álex Grimaldo to Atlético, while Facundo Medina, Miguel Gutiérrez and Guéla Doué arrived, along with Moussa Diaby, who is back in the Bundesliga. Defensively they are still finding their feet, with nine goals conceded in six league games, but at home they have won all three.
5. Leverkusen vs Stuttgart could set the tone for both seasons
A win would keep Leverkusen in touch with the top three, and the Klassiker in Munich a few hours later means at least one of Bayern and Dortmund will drop points. For Stuttgart, another defeat would leave them with four losses from their first seven and a real gap to the European places they are used to.
| # | Team | P | GD | Pts | Form |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 |  Bayer Leverkusen | 6 | 7 | 13 | WWWDW |
| 13 |  Stuttgart | 6 | -2 | 6 | LWLLW |
I'd take Leverkusen to edge it, 2-1, with Schick scoring again, because Stuttgart's league form is poor enough that the last two meetings feel like a long time ago. I wouldn't bet the house, though. Stuttgart have scored seven against Leverkusen in their last two games against them.
In Germany, Sky holds the Saturday 15:30 single matches; elsewhere, check local listings, since this is not the weekend's headline game. DAMITV has Leverkusen vs Stuttgart free, in HD and with no sign-up, on our Bundesliga streams page. Later that evening it's Bayern against Dortmund, and our Bayern vs Dortmund preview covers that one. The club's report on Schick's record has the numbers behind his streak.
