Deniz Undav & Jamie Leweling: VfB Stuttgart's unlikely strike partnership bearing fruit
VfB Stuttgart boss Sebastian Hoeneß has not been dealt an easy hand this season.
Having lost Germany international striker Nick Woltemade in the summer, the 43-year-old has had to make do without two key centre-forwards for large chunks of the 2025/26 campaign.
Deniz Undav was sidelined for over a month after suffering knee ligament damage against Borussia Mönchengladbach on Matchday 2, eventually making his comeback in a 3-0 win at Wolfsburg in mid-October.
By that point, Ermedin Demirović had been ruled out for the best part of three months after fracturing a metatarsal bone in his foot in a narrow victory at Heidenheim on Matchday 6.
However, as Stuttgart prepare to round off the first half of their campaign at home to Eintracht Frankfurt on Tuesday evening, things finally seem to be falling into place in an attacking sense.
Hoeneß raised eyebrows by partnering Undav with Jamie Leweling - a winger by trade - at Bayer Leverkusen on Matchday 16, but it was a move that paid off in spectacular fashion as the Swabians cruised to a statement victory over their fellow European hopefuls.
Watch: Bayer Leverkusen 1-4 VfB Stuttgart - higlights
Undav scored his ninth league goal of the campaign late in the first half, but not before Leweling had struck either side of Maximilian Mittelstädt’s penalty to give Stuttgart a remarkable four-goal half-time lead in a Bundesliga game for the first time since 1982.
Alejandro Grimaldo’s second-half penalty proved little more than a consolation for Leverkusen, with Demirović’s late cameo - the frontman’s first competitive appearance since his injury in October - of far greater significance from Hoeneß’s perspective.
Much to the head coach’s delight, both Leweling’s goals were assisted by Undav, who threaded a perfect pass into the 24-year-old for the game’s seventh-minute opener before teeing up his fellow frontman for a spectacular effort from outside the box.
The former Brighton & Hove Albion striker has now matched his goals tally from last season, while Leweling’s first Bundesliga double - on his 100th competitive Stuttgart outing - means he has already surpassed his two-goal haul from 2024/25.
Having taken to the unfamiliar role like a duck to water, the Nuremberg native may well end up reprising his strike partnership with Undav, who feels Leweling is perfectly suited to a more central position.
“He’s physically strong and fast,” he said. “When he has a clear mindset, he’s difficult to defend against. He has everything you need - except for my technique!”
Watch: Leweling's best bits
Hoeneß was just as effusive in his praise for Leweling in his press conference before the Frankfurt game, telling the assembled journalists: “We’ve seen a different side to Jamie since the summer.
“He has fine-tuned a couple of things. We knew what was in his locker in terms of his ability - he’s shown that and it has earned him a place in the [Germany] national team - but he’s added consistency to that now.”
As for Undav, his goal moved him joint-second with Michael Olise, Luis Díaz and Haris Tabaković in the Bundesliga’s 2025/26 goalscoring charts - a remarkable feat, given he missed four of the first six games through injury.
“Nothing surprises me with Deniz anymore,” Hoeneß said last month. “It was hugely important for us that he rediscovered his best form so quickly [after his injury]. We need his goals.”
Demirović’s late cameo at the BayArena was the icing on the cake for the reigning DFB Cup holders, although the Bosnian striker’s return to fitness - coupled with the recent arrival of young forward Jeremy Arévalo - may cause a selection headache in the weeks to come.
It will be a welcome dilemma for Hoeneß, whose side trail third-placed RB Leipzig and fourth-placed Leverkusen only by goal difference.
Frankfurt are just three points behind VfB in the table but boast the third-worst defensive record in the league this season, with only Wolfsburg and Heidenheim shipping more goals in 2025/26.
Undav and Leweling in particular will be licking their lips.
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