Stuttgart vs Atletico Madrid Preview: Team News & Prediction | 2026-27 UEFA Champions League | League Phase
by Alex Lawes ·
This one could be a thriller as two of the more entertaining teams in Europe, Stuttgart and Atletico Madrid, face off in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday.
Kick-off date/time:
How to watch on TV & online: UK – TNT Sports & HBO Max / USA – Paramount+
Stuttgart preview: Strong start for Stuttgart
Highly-rated young coach Sebastian Hoeness is once again getting his Stuttgart side to play some entertaining football, albeit their underperformance in the Bundesliga continued at the weekend with a 1-0 loss to Hamburg at the Volksparkstadion.
In the UEFA Champions League, they comfortably saw off debutants Viking by three goals to one last month before another comfortable victory last week, running out 3-0 winners in Slovakia against Slovan Bratislava.
Atletico Madrid preview: Chaotic Los Rojiblancos
‘Cholismo’ is the nickname of Diego Simeone and his style of football, known for its aggression and hostility but the defensive nous and tightness that was once there is now long gone after several summers of ambitious and heavy spending.
Atletico Madrid did, though, show more of that hard-nosed edge at the RCDE Stadium in Barcelona on Saturday as they defeated Espanyol by a goal to nil, courtesy of an 89th minute winner scored by FIFA World Cup 2026 winner Alex Baena.
Stuttgart team news: A few issues
Summer signing Tiago Tomas is working his way back to full fitness for Stuttgart but Germany international left-back Maximilian Mittelstadt is now a doubt due to a cut that saw him miss out last week in Bratislava.
Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Bredlow; Vagnoman, Jeltsch, Chabot, Hendriks; Promel, Stiller; El Khannouss, Undav, Fuhrich; Pejcinovic
Unavailable: Al Dakhil (Injured), Diehl (Injured)
Questionable: Zagadou (Injured), Mittelstadt (Injured), Nartey (Injured), Tomas (Fitness)
Atletico Madrid team news: Midfield injuries
Atletico now head to Germany with a couple of fresh injury absentees as club captain Koke is now sidelined due to a hamstring issue with Johnny Cardoso unavailable at the weekend due to illness.
Predicted XI (4-4-2): Oblak; Llorente, Romero, Hancko, Grimaldo; Simeone, Barrios, Hjulmand, Baena; Lee, Alvarez
Unavailable: Koke (Injured)
Questionable: Johnny (Illness)
Stuttgart vs Atletico Madrid prediction
That victory against Espanyol at the weekend means that Atletico have now enjoyed six successive victories since they took the lead but were beaten by Liverpool at Anfield in the UEFA Champions League a few weeks ago. Stuttgart will try and get at their opposition but that is now a type of game that the visitors themselves tend to enjoy and so both teams scoring seems a decent bet.
Stuttgart vs Atletico Madrid Tip: Both teams to score
