Overview
- Kickoff is at 20:45 CET at Holstein-Stadion in Kiel, with live coverage on ZDF and Sky, streams via ZDF Mediathek and Sky, and a SPORT1 live ticker.
- Holstein Kiel will be without center-back Ivan Nekic due to a yellow-red suspension.
- Tobias Welz has been assigned as the match referee.
- Stuttgart have won 14 consecutive cup ties against lower-division opponents and extended their league unbeaten run to seven matches with a 1:0 victory over Freiburg.
- Kiel enter after a 1:2 league loss to Greuther Fürth and have struggled statistically with low shot volume (232) and 14 goals conceded from set pieces this season.