Stuttgart were victorious against Juventus in their previous Champions League outing. - © IMAGO

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VfB Stuttgart vs. Atalanta: UEFA Champions League team news, match stats and LIVE blog!

06.11.2024

VfB Stuttgart will be looking to make it back-to-back wins in the UEFA Champions League as they host Atalanta at the MHPArena on Wednesday (kick-off: 9pm CET).

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Stuttgart prepared for this clash with a goalless draw away at reigning Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen, and they will also be looking to build on their 1-0 victory over Juventus in their last Champions League outing. They do head into this clash with a few injury issues to contend with, most notably Jamie Leweling, who was forced off with a muscle injury at the BayArena and is therefore unavailable here. Also definitely on the sidelines are Dan-Axel Zagadou and Luca Raimund, while it remains to be seen whether Leonidas Stergiou and Yannik Keitel can be involved. Centre-back Jeff Chabot has missed the last two games through suspension and a muscular injury, but Sebastian Hoeneß expects to have his defensive leader back here. There is a good dilemma for Die Schwaben up top where Deniz Undav is almost certain to start, but there is a decision to be made between Juve conqueror and Atalanta loanee El Bilal Touré and Ermedin Demirović, who has enjoyed a solid start to the campaign since his arrival from Augsburg.

UEFA Europa League holders Atalanta come into this fixture in good form. They were convincing in their 3-0 victory over Serie A leaders Napoli on Sunday, with ex-RB Leipzig forward Ademola Lookman particularly impressive as he bagged a brace. They are unbeaten in seven matches across all competitions, while they have five points from the opening three matches in this tournament without conceding. Mateo Retegui, the Italian top flight's leading goalscoring with 11 strikes, was surprisingly named on the bench versus Napoli but came on to find the back of the net - you would expect him to return to the starting line-up here. Giorgio Scalvini and Gianluca Scamacca are both ruled out of this clash with cruciate ligament injuries, but head coach Gian Piero Gasperini, who has now been in the role for eight years, otherwise has a full squad to choose from.

Watch: Stuttgart's Mr Unpredictable, Deniz Undav

Match stats

This is the first competitive meeting between Stuttgart and Atalanta.
Touré is on loan at Stuttgart from Atalanta and has already scored as many goals in 11 games for VfB as he got in 17 for the Italians last season (three).
Enzo Millot has created 10 chances in the Champions League this season – the most in the competition together with Paris Saint-Germain’s Lee Kang-in.
Only Manchester City (72) have had more shots than Stuttgart (65) in the Champions League this season.
Sead Kolašinac had a brief spell in Stuttgart’s academy before emerging at Schalke. Lazar Samardžić (Hertha Berlin and Leipzig), Lookman (Leipzig) and Odilon Kossounou (Leverkusen) have also played in the Bundesliga.
Atalanta are yet to concede in three Champions League games this season but have also been responsible for half of the goalless draws in the competition’s league phase (two out of four).

Probable teams

Stuttgart: Nübel - Vagnoman, Rouault, Chabot, Mittelstädt - Millot, Karazor (c), Stiller, Führich - Touré, Undav
Out: Leweling (hamstring), Raimund (thigh), Zagadou (knee)
Doubtful: Keitel (groin), Stergiou (back)
Coach: Sebastian Hoeneß

Atalanta: Carnesecchi - Djimsiti (c), Hien, Kolašinac - Bellanova, de Roon - Éderson, Zappacosta - Pašalić - Retegui, Lookman
Out: Scalvini (cruciate ligament), Scamacca (cruciate ligament)
Doubtful: -
Coach: Gian Piero Gasperini

LIVE blog!

Stuttgart

Wed, 06.11 20:00

Atalanta

Champions League
League phase, Matchday 4 League phase, Matchday 4 MHP Arena

More on Atalanta

Stuttgart will be well-aware of Atalanta, given they were the only side to beat Bundesliga champions Leverkusen last season, doing so in the Europa League final. This term Gian Piero Gasperini's side have been just as good, and sit three points off the top of Serie A with a five-game winning run.

Mittelstädt on Atalanta

“Atalanta are really good going forward and are always capable of creating chances. It’ll be important for us to work together as a team and to not leave them much space. Our defensive work has progressed well and become more stable over the past few weeks – putting aside the game at Bayern Munich. I’m confident that we can produce a good performance against Atalanta. We’ve often managed to seize control against teams who have strong attacks.”

Mittelstädt on famous Juventus win

“We played really well in that game. We hardly gave Juve any chances and at the other end we created plenty ourselves. That win strengthened us even further as a team. We’re in good form right now and can go into the game against Atalanta with plenty of confidence.”

Stuttgart team news

Jamie Leweling, who was forced off early against Leverkusen last time out, is absent along with Dan-Axel Zagadou and Luca Raimund. It remains to be seen whether Sebastian Hoeneß will be able to call upon the services of Yannik Keitel, Leonidas Stergiou and Jeff Chabot for this encounter.

Atalanta team news

There are just absentees for Atalanta ahead of this clash, and they are both long-term ones as Giorgio Scalvini and Gianluca Scamacca continue to recover from cruciate ligament injuries. After being dropped to the bench for the win over Napoli Mateo Retegui should return to the starting line-up.

Well-known faces

There are several faces in the Atalanta squad that Stuttgart supporters will be familiar with. Sead Kolašinac had a brief spell in Stuttgart’s academy before emerging at Schalke. Lazar Samardžić (Hertha Berlin and RB Leipzig), Lookman (Leipzig) and Odilon Kossounou (Bayer Leverkusen) have also played in the Bundesliga

Atalanta on form

Stuttgart will need to be at their best to get past reigning UEFA Europa League champions Atalanta. Le Dea have been in fantastic form in recent weeks - they are currently unbeaten in their past eight matches in all competitions, and come into this clash on the back of a convincing 3-0 win away at Serie A leaders Napoli. Third in the table themselves, Atalanta will look to Ademola Lookman and top goalscorer Mateo Retegui for inspiration.

Familiar territory

The hero against Juventus was summer signing El Bilal Touré, whose last gasp winner was his first goal in the tournament. The striker will be returning to his former club when these two sides meet; he spent one season at Atalanta, scoring three times.

Finding their feet

With a win and a draw in their last two league games, Sebastian Hoeneß's men seem to be regaining their confidence. They also beat Juventus last time out in the Champions League, managing to keep a clean sheet away from home as they saw out a 1-0 win in Turin.

1:01

Watch: Leverkusen 0-0 Stuttgart highlights

Stuttgart picked up a valuable point away from home against Leverkusen on Matchday 9.

Welcome!

Thanks for joining us for build-up and live coverage of VfB Stuttgart's fourth UEFA Champions League game of the 2024/25 league phase at home to Atalanta on Wednesday.

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