VfB Stuttgart believe they are capable of handing freshly crowned Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen a first season defeat on Saturday which could all but clinch a Champions League berth for them.
Leverkusen are unbeaten in all their 45 season matches and Stuttgart coach Sebastian Hoeneß told reporters on Thursday that "this is an incentive for us to change that."
Hoeneß hopes that Stuttgart can come "third time lucky" after drawing 1-1 with Leverkusen in the Bundesliga reverse fixture and losing 3-2 against them in the German Cup from a last-minute Jonathan Tah header.
Stuttgart have beaten Leverkusen only once in their last 25 matches, and Hoeneß acknowledged that Leverkusen will want to remain unbeaten until the end of the season after clinching a maiden league title earlier in the month.
But he said that his third-placed team "is still eyeing a big goal in the Bundesliga" by trying to qualify for the Champions League.
A top four finish will guarantee that, and if Stuttgart win in Leverkusen, and fourth-placed Leipzig beat number five Borussia Dortmund, Stuttgart will be nine points clear of Dortmund with three games left.
"It must be clear that we are prepared to go to the limit. That must be visible," Hoeneß said.
