VfB Stuttgart can seal their place in the UEFA Champions League last 16 play-offs with a positive result at home to Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday (kick-off: 9pm CET).

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Back-to-back wins over Young Boys (5-1) and Slovan Bratislava (3-1) ensure Stuttgart go into the final round of league phase fixtures firmly in the running to seal one of 16 play-off berths. Currently occupying the 24th and final qualifying spot, last season's Bundesliga runners-up - fourth in the domestic standings over halfway into 2024/25 - will seal the deal with a win. Even a draw should be enough, barring an unlikely turn of events in the game between Dinamo Zagreb and AC Milan, but a defeat will likely spell the end of their first Champions League adventure since 2009/10. Sebastian Hoeneß's side were enjoying a four-game winning run in all competitions before losing 2-0 at Mainz on Saturday. Germany U21 striker Nick Woltemade started at the Mewa Arena, but is ineligible in Europe. Suspended at the weekend, French playmaker Enzo Millot will likely come back in. Germany forward Jamie Leweling is another proven alternative after scoring twice against Slovan, while Jeff Chabot should provide cover for the suspended Anthony Rouault in defence.

PSG travel to the MHPArena ahead of Stuttgart on goal difference after firing themselves back into play-off contention with a 4-2 win from 2-0 down against Manchester City last time out. They've already lost once in Germany this season, though - slipping to a 1-0 reverse in Munich - and could yet crash out of the competition altogether with defeat in Stuttgart and unfavourable results elsewhere. Avoiding that fate will require a much-improved showing compared to their 1-1 draw with Reims in Ligue 1 on Saturday. Former Borussia Dortmund attacker Ousmane Dembélé opened the scoring for Luis Enrique's team, who are nonetheless some 10 points clear of their nearest domestic rivals Marseille. With Nuno Mendes suspended for the trip to southern Germany, ex-Eintracht Frankfurt man Willian Pacho could get the nod in defence, allowing Lucas Hernández - a 2019/20 Champions League winner with Bayern - to move out to left-back.

Watch: The rise of Stuttgart's Deniz Undav

Match stats

• Stuttgart are bidding to reach the Champions League last 16 for the first time since 2009/10. They also made it that far in the 2003/04.
• Stuttgart have a competition-leading spread of 10 different scorers in this season's edition of the Champions League, with Leweling and Millot top of the in-house charts on two goals apiece.
• In fact, Millot has been directly involved in five goals for Stuttgart in the Champions League so far this season - the most of any player for the club in a single campaign.
• Stuttgart have lost only one of their four previous home encounters with French opposition in UEFA competition (W2, D1).
• VfB are bidding to win back-to-back Champions League home matches for the first time since the 2003/04 campaign (three home straight victories over Manchester United, Panathinaikos and Rangers).
• PSG have lost eight of their 13 away games in the Champions League against German opposition.

Probable teams

Stuttgart: Nübel - Vagnoman, Chabot, Al-Dakhil, Mittelstädt - Karazor (c), Stiller - Leweling, Millot, Führich - Undav
Out: Diehl (hamstring), Nartey (knee), Raimund (thigh), Rouault (suspended), Touré (foot), Woltemade (ineligible), Zagadou (knee)
Doubtful: -
Coach: Sebastian Hoeneß

PSG: Donnarumma - Hakimi, Marquinhos (c), Pacho, Hernández - João Neves, Vitinha, Ruíz - Dembélé, Lee, Barcola
Out: Kvaratskhelia (ineligible), Mendes (suspended)
Doubtful: -
Coach: Luis Enrique

LIVE blog!

VS

Stuttgart

Wed, 29.01 20:00

Paris

Champions League
League phase, Matchday 8 League phase, Matchday 8 MHPArena

The story so far: PSG

The French capital club sit level on points with Stuttgart, and have also won their last two games against RB Salzburg (3-0) and Manchester City (4-2). Their impressive win last time out against City has also got them in with a chance of reaching the seeded playoff places, making this an even more exciting tie.

The story so far: Stuttgart

Sebastian Hoeneß's men sit in 24th, on 10 points. They're just two points off the seeded playoff places, and have won their last two games in the competition against Young Boys (5-1) and Slovan Bratislava (3-1). Most impressive was their 1-0 win away to Juventus in October, and they'll need to re-create some of that magic if they're to win against PSG.

© IMAGO/Markus Ulmer

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Thanks for joining us for build-up and live coverage of VfB Stuttgart's eighth and final game of the UEFA Champions League's 2024/25 league phase at home to Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday, with all 18 fixtures being played simultaneously on the final matchday.

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