Timo Hildebrand would start Dennis Seimen in goal for VfB Stuttgart against SC Paderborn this Saturday. The former Germany and Stuttgart goalkeeper gave his clear opinion on the club's current dilemma, sparked by Seimen's return from injury.

Seimen, 20, is back after a weeks-long thigh injury suffered in late July. He was earmarked as the number one successor to Alexander Nübel, who returned to Bayern Munich. In his absence, Fabian Bredlow, 31, stepped in reliably and earned the trust of coach Sebastian Hoeneß. The club sits 15th in the Bundesliga with just three points from four matches. The next opportunity for points comes away at newly-promoted SC Paderborn on Saturday (3:30 PM), where Seimen was the first-choice keeper last season and helped secure promotion.

Hildebrand, 47, admitted the decision would be tough. "Fabi has done well, but Dennis was actually intended as the number one," said the 2007 title-winning keeper. He explained his preference: "I think I would rather put Dennis in goal. Simply because the club decided on him as the number one before the season." He described Bredlow as a "great guy" who handles his role well.

Hoeneß has the final say

The final choice rests with coach Sebastian Hoeneß. He had already named Seimen as the long-term number one but must weigh whether the youngster is ready to start immediately after a long layoff. The match in Paderborn holds special significance as it could be Seimen's Bundesliga debut against his former club. "I don't believe in coincidences. Perhaps it's meant to be that Dennis makes his debut there of all places," Hildebrand remarked.

Stuttgart head into the fixture with some momentum. After two defeats to start the season, they recorded two clear home wins, most recently a 5-0 victory over Greuther Fürth. Deniz Undav scored twice in that friendly, regaining confidence after a goal drought. For the upcoming away trip to Paderborn and the following Champions League match in Bratislava on Wednesday (9 PM), the goalkeeper question is key. Sebastian Hoeneß's team must continue the positive trend of recent games to climb out of the relegation zone. All upcoming fixtures are listed in the schedule.

The report in full is at Bild Sport