VfB Stuttgart v Atletico Madrid: Champions League preview, predicted line-ups & tips

It's only matchday three of the Champions League league stage, but Tuesday night at the MHPArena already has the feel of a useful early marker.

VfB Stuttgart sit fourth in the table on six points from two games, a spot that currently carries a place in the last-16 play-offs.

Atletico Madrid arrive with a win and a defeat to their name, which makes this a chance to steady things before the schedule gets any busier.

There's no two-legged tie here, so every point is banked straight away - and for a side hoping to dodge the play-off round altogether, none of them are spare.

How did Stuttgart get here? Comfortably, so far.

They opened with a 3-1 home win over Viking on 9 September and followed it with a 3-0 win away at Slovan Bratislava on 14 October.

That's six goals scored and one conceded across two games, and the numbers underneath back it up, with an average of 63% possession and 5.5 shots on target per game.

How did Atletico get here? Unevenly.

They lost 2-1 away at Liverpool on 9 September, then bounced back with a 2-0 home win over Manchester United on 13 October.

That's three scored and two conceded, and their recent-form figures show an average of 1.19 expected goals for against 1.3 against, so it's been a tighter ride than the results suggest.

Rotation isn't much of a worry with only two games played in the competition, and both sides will fancy their chances of taking something from this one.

Stuttgart have had a week between their last two European outings and will want to keep the winning rhythm going, so a strong XI looks the sensible call.

Atletico played on the Tuesday of last week, so the turnaround is a normal one and there's no obvious reason for wholesale changes.

The bigger selection question for the hosts is at the back, where a handful of absentees (below) leave the defence looking a little thin.

Stuttgart (predicted): Bredlow; Vagnoman, Chabot, Hendriks, Zagadou; Karazor, Stiller; Führich, El Khannouss, Undav; Demirović.

They've used both a 4-2-3-1 and a 3-2-4-1 this season, so the shape is open, but Demirović is the obvious focal point after four goals in the competition already.

Atletico Madrid (predicted): Oblak; Marcos Llorente, Le Normand, Hancko, Grimaldo; Koke, Cardoso, Barrios; Lookman, Álvarez, Sørloth.

They've lined up in a 4-4-2 and a 3-5-2 so far, so a back three wouldn't be a shock.

Kick-off is at 20:00 BST on Tuesday 20 October 2026, and the game is shown on TNT Sports where selected.

This is a league-stage match, so there are no first or second legs to worry about.

If the scores are level after 90 minutes, the game finishes as a draw, because there's no extra time or penalty shootout in the league phase.