Stuttgart will host Freiburg at the MHPArena in a DFB-Pokal semi-final on Thursday, a Baden-Swabian derby for regional supremacy in the Ländle that kicked off five minutes late after a massive pyro show from Stuttgart supporters.
For Freiburg forward Johan Manzambi — who opened Sunday’s 2-1 win over Heidenheim — the trip to the MHPArena is the next step in a run that has seen his side win four consecutive matches and six of their last seven across all competitions. Maximilian Eggestein supplied the late winner on Sunday, and Freiburg arrive also buoyed by progress to the Europa League semi-finals after a 6-1 aggregate win over Celta Vigo.
The weight of the tie is plain: Stuttgart are the defending DFB-Pokal holders, having beaten Arminia Bielefeld 4-2 in the 2024-25 final with Nick Woltemade and Deniz Undav on the scoresheet and Enzo Millot scoring twice. The winner on Thursday will follow Bayern Munich into the DFB-Pokal final in Berlin.
Stuttgart’s form and recent record at the MHPArena complicate the picture. The side sit fourth in the Bundesliga but arrived here off a 4-2 defeat to Bayern Munich on Sunday, a result that followed a 4-0 league win over Hamburger SV the previous week. At home this season in cup and league fixtures they have recorded three wins and three losses, and in the cup specifically Stuttgart have met Bundesliga opposition only once — Mainz 05 in October — while beating Holstein Kiel 3-0 in the DFB-Pokal quarter-finals on February 4.
Freiburg’s path is different: a stretch of sustained momentum in the league and Europe. They needed a penalty shootout to beat Hertha Berlin after a 1-1 draw in their previous DFB-Pokal round, and they suffered a 3-2 defeat to Bayern Munich on April 4 but have otherwise been hard to stop. Their Europa League quarter-final success over Celta Vigo underlines the depth of the challenge they pose to the holders.
The friction here is obvious. Stuttgart bring cup pedigree and a vociferous home crowd that produced the pyro show and delayed kick-off by five minutes — a dramatic expression of support that also interrupted the match build-up. Freiburg bring form, fitness and continental experience; Manzambi and Eggestein provide recent evidence of an attack that can score late and change ties. Stuttgart’s inconsistent recent home results, three wins and three losses, are the counterweight to their status as holders.
There is also a scheduling and squad management subtext: Freiburg are balancing a Europa League semi-final run while Stuttgart are trying to protect a Bundesliga position that could lead to Champions League qualification — and, as has been noted about Stuttgart’s aims, the club is said to be looking to supplement any potential league success with another cup win. The semi-final thus serves both as a standalone derby and as a hinge on each club’s wider season.
Thursday’s match is simple in consequence: the winner goes to Berlin to join Bayern in the final. Given Stuttgart’s cup history and home atmosphere but Freiburg’s recent string of victories and European form, this one will likely be decided by which side imposes its rhythm first — and whether the home haze of flares turns into fuel or distraction. For Johan Manzambi and his Freiburg teammates, and for the holders in front of their fans, the answer comes by full-time, and the victor will carry the Ländle’s hopes to the capital.
