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VFB Stuttgart vs Celtic – Match preview and team news
VfB Stuttgart and Celtic go head-to-head in the UEFA Europa League knockout round play-off second leg on Thursday in Stuttgart.
The Bundesliga side holds a commanding first-leg advantage and aims to secure the win at the MHPArena, while Celtic need a remarkable turnaround to keep their European campaign alive.
VFB Stuttgart vs Celtic – Match preview and team news
- Date: Thursday, 26th February.
- Kick-off: 5:45pm BST.
- Venue: MHPArena, Stuttgart.
VFB Stuttgart team news
Sebastian Hoeness is without Lazar Jovanovic, Dan-Axel Zagadou, and Justin Diehl, who are all sidelined due to injury. Jeff Chabot is suspended, further limiting Stuttgart’s options at the heart of defence.
Midfielder Angelo Stiller picked up a knee knock in the 3-3 Bundesliga draw at Heidenheim on Sunday and is considered a doubt.
Hoeness has insisted he will not treat the game lightly despite the three-goal cushion, saying the line-up will be chosen to be “the best possible and freshest team” rather than rotated based on the first-leg score, and stressing “we want to win the game and put in the best possible performance”.
Celtic team news
Celtic still remain without several players through injury: centre-back Cameron Carter-Vickers, full-back Alistair Johnston, winger Jota, Adam Montgomery, midfielder Arne Engels and youngster Callum Osmand have all been listed as unavailable in recent squad updates around the tie.
O’Neill was frank after the first-leg loss, admitting Celtic were “masters of their own downfall” and that they had conceded “very poor” and “soft” goals, while stressing that turning the tie around would be “a tough challenge” against a Stuttgart side he described as capable of winning the competition.
Form
VFB Stuttgart
Stuttgart are enjoying an excellent 2025–26 campaign, sitting fourth in the Bundesliga table and combining domestic progress with a serious Europa League push.
Hoeness’s side has lost only two matches in all competitions in 2026, scoring 26 goals and keeping three clean sheets in that period, underlining their attacking power and growing defensive stability.
Celtic
Celtic travel to Germany needing at least four goals to have any chance of progressing, after a sobering 4-1 defeat in the first leg at Celtic Park. Martin O’Neill’s side also comes into the second leg on the back of a damaging 2-1 home defeat to Hibernian in the Scottish Premiership.
Predicted lineups
Stuttgart: Nubel; Assignon, Jacquez, Jeltsch, Mittelstadt; Karazor, Andres; El Khannouss, Undav, Fuhrich; Demirovic.
Celtic: Schmeichel; Araujo, Trusty, Scales, Tierney; McGregor, Bernardo; Maeda, Nygren, Tounekti; Cvancara.
How to watch VFB Stuttgart vs Celtic?
In the UK, VfB Stuttgart vs Celtic will be shown live on TNT Sports 2 as part of the broadcaster’s UEFA Europa League coverage, with streaming available via Discovery+ for subscribers to the TNT Sports package.
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