🎯 “One Point to Freedom”: VfB Stuttgart II’s Do-or-Die Showdown with Rot-Weiss Essen

Match-day: Saturday, 17 May 2025 – 12:30 CET
Venue: WIRmachenDRUCK Arena, Aspach
Competition: 3. Liga, Match-day 38 (final round)

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🚦 Why this game matters

VfB Stuttgart II hover just one point above the drop-zone (46 pts, 16th). Head coach Markus Fiedler has set a crystal-clear target: “Earn the point ourselves, stay up on our own terms.” A draw (or better) against mid-table Rot-Weiss Essen (7th, 55 pts) guarantees safety; defeat could drag the Little Reds into a nerve-shredding calculator-fest if Hallescher or Sandhausen win elsewhere. (LTP (EN), Transfermarkt)

🗣️ Fiedler’s rallying cry

“We don’t want to refresh live-tables every two minutes. Let’s finish the job in front of our own fans.” — Markus Fiedler, pre-match press call (16 May 2025)

The 39-year-old has leaned on senior centre-half Jan-Niklas Beste to steady a baby-faced XI averaging just 21.9 years. Fiedler praises Beste’s “big-brother calm” and hopes his youngsters feed off the home crowd’s energy.

🎟️ Ticket boost = Twelfth man

To pack the terraces, VfB are running a 50 % discount for club members and season-ticket holders; kids under 13 enter for €5 anywhere in the ground. The club opened extra blocks on Wednesday and reported “brisk” sales within hours.

Ticket category	Normal	Member/STH price
Adult seating	€20	€10
Adult standing	€15	€7.50
U13 everywhere	€5	€5

(All prices include public-transport ticket within VVS zone.)

🔍 Key storylines to watch

VfB II	Rot-Weiss Essen
Home form: 3 W – 1 D – 1 L in last five at Aspach.	Away wobble: winless in four on the road.
Missing: Tritschler, Boakye, Raimund (injuries).	Missing: Wintzheimer, Eisfeld (injuries).
Player to watch: Keke Topp – 10 goals since January loan.	Player to watch: Isaiah Young – lightning winger, 8 assists.

📈 Tactical snapshot

• VfB II (4-2-3-1): double-pivot shields a shaky back line; quick switches to Topp & Ulrich.
• RWE (3-4-3): coach Uwe Koschinat loves wing-backs high and wide, tempting VfB to break in behind.

Look for Stuttgart’s full-backs to pick their moments—overlap too often and Young punishes on the counter.

❤️ Human angle: kids, dreams and a safety pin

Most of Fiedler’s squad still share flats at the club academy 40 minutes away in Stuttgart-Möhringen. Keeper Dennis Seimen (18) joked this week that his mum “already packed the moving boxes” if they drop. That raw, relatable pressure is exactly why the coach wants the stands full of friendly faces: “These lads grew up watching Saturday football from the Cannstatter Kurve; now they need that roar for themselves.”

🔑 What survival means

• Sporting: guarantees a third straight season in Germany’s fully professional 3. Liga—critical for player development.
• Financial: preserves ~€1.2 m central revenue share; relegation would slash it by half.
• Pathway: keeps the bridge from academy to first team viable—Topp, Seimen, & Co. train with Sebastian Hoeneß’s seniors every Thursday.

📝 Bottom line

One game, one point, one massive sigh of relief—if they earn it. Whether you’re a die-hard Cannstatter or just love an under-dog tale, Saturday’s matinee promises nerves, noise and maybe a season-defining fist-pump.