Bundesliga outfit Stuttgart will lock horns with Premier League side Brentford in Southern Germany for their pre-season friendly encounter on Saturday.
The hosts will begin the 2022-23 campaign against Dynamo Dresden in the DFB-Pokal, while the visitors will face Leicester City on the opening day of the new Premier League season.
Match preview
© Reuters
Stuttgart managed to maintain their Bundesliga status in dramatic fashion last season, with a final-day victory over FC Koln enough to move them out of the relegation zone.
Japanese midfielder Wataru Endo scored a 92nd-minute winner to help Die Roten climb above Hertha Berlin and avoid facing a relegation playoff on goal difference.
Stuttgart kept only five Bundesliga clean sheets last season, the joint-second fewest in the division, and head coach Pellegrino Matarazzo has opted to strengthen his backline by bringing in three new defenders including Konstantinos Mavropanos on a permanent deal from Arsenal.
Die Roten have managed to retain the services of star striker Sasa Kalajdzic for now, but his future still remains uncertain amid interest from the likes of Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.
Stuttgart have made a perfect start to their pre-season so far, with an emphatic 7-1 victory over Boblingen in their opening warm-up match followed by 3-2 victories against both SV Wehen Wiesbaden and FC Zurich.
© Reuters
Brentford enjoyed a memorable first season in the Premier League, and although there were some relegation fears midway through the campaign they managed to finish 11 points clear of the bottom three.
The Bees finished in 13th place after winning 13, drawing seven and losing 18 of their 38 top-flight matches, and they were the only club from the previous season's promoted trio who avoided the drop.
Thomas Frank will now be tasked with fighting off second-season syndrome, and to boost Brentford's hopes of survival, the Danish boss has added three new signings in the form of Aaron Hickey, Keane Lewis-Potter and Thomas Strakosha.
The future of Christian Eriksen, however, remains unknown with the playmaker now a free agent after his short-term deal with the Bees expired last month.
Brentford have only played one pre-season friendly so far this summer, beating non-league side Boreham Wood 2-0 last week, and after their clash with Stuttgart, they are scheduled to face Strasbourg, Wolfsburg, Brighton & Hove Albion and Real Betis later this month.
- W
- W
- W
- W
Team News
© Reuters
Stuttgart boss Matarazzo used two almost entirely different lineups in both halves of their most recent friendly against FC Zurich and he is likely to take a similar approach to Saturday's game.
Summer signing Josha Vagnoman is set to battle with Pascal Stenzel for a place at right wing-back this season, but the former could be handed a start on the opposite flank this weekend, as key creative outlet Borna Sosa is ruled out with a thigh injury.
Darko Churlinov and Naouirou Ahamada both came on in the second half to score in the win over Zurich, the latter of whom netting a brace, and the pair could be handed starts from the off this time around.
As for Brentford, Frank named two completely different teams in each half against Boreham Wood and could do the same again against Stuttgart.
Goalkeeper Strakosha only joined the club on Thursday but he could be involved this weekend as he is set to join up with the rest of the squad in Germany.
The likes of Ivan Toney, Sergi Canos, Rico Henry, Pontus Jansson and Vitaly Janelt were all given run-outs last time out and they are expected to feature again at some stage on Saturday.
Frank has confirmed, however, that defender Kristoffer Ajer will not be involved in pre-season and will miss their Premier League opener against Leicester after undergoing hamstring surgery.
Stuttgart possible starting lineup:
Muller; Mavropanos, Anton, Ito; Stenzel, Ahamada, Endo, Vagnoman; Churlinov, Fuhrich; Kalajdzic
Brentford possible starting lineup:
Balcombe; Sorensen, Jansson, Racic; Stevens, Janelt, Baptiste, Dasilva, Hickey; Lewis-Potter, Toney
We say: Stuttgart 2-3 Brentford
Both sides have started pre-season brightly and will be keen to secure another victory as they aim to build positive momentum ahead of their opening fixtures of the new season.
There is little to separate these two sides but we can see the Bees edging out their Bundesliga counterparts in an entertaining contest.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Oliver Thomas
