Serhou Guirassy and Fábio Silva have given Borussia Dortmund a fast-starting attack, and the numbers are hard to ignore. Guirassy has four goals and two assists in five games across all competitions, while Dortmund have taken maximum points from their opening three Bundesliga matches for the first time in 11 years. VfB Stuttgart still have their own scorers to lean on, though, and Saturday’s meeting at VfB Stuttgart vs Borussia Dortmund looks like a real test of which front line can keep the pace.
Dortmund's early edge
Guirassy’s link-up with Silva has been the clearest sign of Dortmund's strong start. Both of Guirassy’s assists this term were for Silva, and Silva has already matched last season’s Bundesliga tally with two goals. That kind of shared output gives Dortmund a different feel, one built on two forwards arriving in sync rather than a single hot hand carrying everything.
Guirassy has also talked about the partnership in simple terms. Speaking to bundesliga.com, he said: "We have a very good relationship" and added, "Sometimes when I haven't been playing, I've given him advice, and when he isn't playing, he gives me advice." He also said, "I understand that football's like this. One day I'm going to score, another day someone else is going to score. We might as well push each other to improve and let the team reap the rewards."
That lines up with Niko Kovač's view, too. "Competition keeps things lively,. The competition is there this season, too," he told bundesliga.com. Dortmund look less dependent on one scorer than they did at points last season, and that is a good place to be before a fixture that has produced more goals than any other Bundesliga matchup, with 381 in 112 meetings.
Stuttgart's answers
Stuttgart are not short of forward options of their own. Deniz Undav has not scored for Stuttgart since May, but he has six goals against Dortmund, more than against any other team, and Sebastian Hoeneß is backing him to come through the quiet spell. "That [his confidence] will come again," Hoeneß said, while adding, "I have absolutely no doubt about that. Deniz will score again, and he will once again be the player who decides games for us."
Ermedin Demirović has also opened the season with zero Bundesliga goals, so Stuttgart's attack is still waiting for its main league scorers to click at the same time. That makes the contest with Dortmund's front two more interesting, because this is not just about one striker finding form. It is about which side can get the cleaner collective return.
Stuttgart have also added Dženan Pejčinović's profile to the mix, with Fabian Wohlgemuth saying: "Dzenan has everything it takes to be a valuable option in attack immediately, and as a young player, he still has a lot of potential for development." The club are sold on the short-term help as well as the longer-term upside. Bundesliga.com also reported that Jürgen Klopp, described there as Germany head coach, wants to speak to him about a call-up, although that role claim is not independently verified here.
Saturday will not settle the argument between the two attacks, but it will tell us whether Dortmund's early sharpness can travel and whether Stuttgart can finally get their forwards firing together again.
Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →
