Team news, predicted lineups and key insights ahead of VfB Stuttgart vs. Atletico Madrid in the 2026/27 Champions League.

After back-to-back wins, VfB Stuttgart suffered a setback at the weekend, as Sebastian Hoeness' side fell to a disappointing 1-0 defeat away to Hamburger SV in the Bundesliga.

The result was far from ideal preparation for Tuesday’s Champions League clash with Atletico Madrid, although Stuttgart can take confidence from their convincing victories in their opening two matches in the competition.

However, Atletico undeniably represent a significant step up in quality from Viking and Slovan Bratislava, with the Spanish giants arriving in Germany on a six-match winning streak across all competitions.

Diego Simeone’s side just managed to extend that run at the weekend, as Alex Baena’s late goal secured a narrow 1-0 victory over Espanyol in La Liga, where Atletico sit second in the table, five points behind Barcelona.

Stuttgart and Atletico Madrid have never faced each other before, but the German side have struggled against Spanish opposition in the Champions League, having failed to win any of their last seven matches against La Liga clubs in the competition (D2, L5).

Team news and predicted lineups:

Stuttgart have several injury concerns ahead of Tuesday's clash, with Maximilian Mittelstädt (heel), Nikolas Nartey (thigh), Ameen Al-Dakhil (knee), Tiago Tomas (thigh), Dan-Axel Zagadou (thigh) and Justin Diehl (thigh) all expected to miss out.

Compared to the weekend's 1-0 defeat to HSV, Fabian Bredlow could replace Dennis Seimen in goal, having also started last week's 3-0 Champions League win over Slovan Bratislava. Grischa Prömel could also come into the starting lineup at the expense of Atakan Karazor.

Atletico Madrid, meanwhile, will be without Koke (muscular injury) and Cristian Romero (adductor injury).