20:56
The Belgian Erik Lambrechts will referee the game. Celtic Park has been spruced up and will provide a stunning atmosphere for this play-off first leg. You’ll Never Walk Alone sounds and the players, led by the referee, enter the pitch in Glasgow. This first leg begins in just a few minutes and we are looking forward to 90 atmospheric, thrilling minutes.
8:48 p.m
The two teams have already met once on the European stage. In the 2002/03 season the two teams met in the round of 16 of the then UEFA Cup. At that time, Stuttgart had difficulties at Celtic Park and lost 3-1. In the second leg, the mass was quickly read. After a double strike from the Bhoys in the opening quarter of an hour, VfB would have needed five goals with the away goals rule at the time. The Cannstatt team showed fighting spirit and won 3-2, but it wasn’t enough to advance. Today Stuttgart obviously want to present themselves differently at Celtic Park, but they have been weak away from home on the European stage this season. VfB suffered all three defeats on foreign turf. They certainly want to avoid that today and put themselves in a good position for the second leg.
8:40 p.m
Sebastian Hoeneß is making four changes to the guests. In the back four, Vagnoman will replace Assignon at right-back this evening. There is a surprise on the left. The experienced, frequent player Mittelstädt initially sits on the bench. Instead, Hendriks plays from the start. Stiller is back in central midfield. The midfield engine was slowed down by a cold in the run-up to the 3-1 win against Cologne, which is why he was on the bench for 84 minutes in the Bundesliga. Today he seems to be completely fit again and replaces Chema Andrés in the number six position. There is also a change on offense. El Khannouss moves into the starting eleven. As a result, Leweling slides to the left wing and Führich sits on the bench. The strong attacking duo of Undav and Demirović played again today from the start.
8:34 p.m
The lineups are there. For the home team, coach and club legend Martin O’Neill made three changes compared to the 3-2 away win against Kilmarnock. The back four remains in place. Paulo Bernardo starts for Hatate in central midfield. There are two changes on offense. Tounekti replaces Yung on the right wing. Former Gladbacher Tomáš Čvančara, who is flourishing again at Celtic, starts today in the attacking position. Former Freiburg player Adamu takes his place on the bench.
20:24
Because Celtic Glasgow is also in impressive form. This year they only lost their opening duel, against their city rivals, Glasgow Rangers. Otherwise, the Bhoys are undefeated this year and have secured the important place in the playoff ranks. After a turbulent phase in the first half of the season, this is certainly not a sure-fire success. However, the team has stabilized in the meantime and is now achieving usual results again. In the league they are within striking distance of the surprising league leaders Heart of Midlothian. In the Europa League they collected important points, especially against teams from the bottom third of the table, and ended the league phase in a playoff place. Above all, the atmosphere in Celtic Park certainly plays into today’s hosts’ hands and should give them self-confidence for the game against the favorites Stuttgart. The Bhoys definitely don’t have to hide, because in the playoff phase they are certainly not only a well-known opponent, but also one of the strongest opponents.
8:05 p.m
VfB Stuttgart would certainly have liked to have avoided this playoff round. With twelve points on the last match day, the Swabians even had the mathematical possibility of securing a place in the top eight and thus a safe place in the round of 16. With a last-minute goal from Chema against Young Boys, the Stuttgart team did their homework. But the competition also collected points and so VfB finished the league phase in eleventh place and has to play in the second round. If the Swabians had their way, they would have liked to have avoided this intermediate step in order to conserve their energy. Nevertheless, they can start this encounter with a lot of self-confidence. In the last ten competitive games, Stuttgart have only suffered two defeats. Thanks to these performances, they jumped to fourth place in the league and are also in the semi-finals of the DFB Cup. The burden of the playoffs has long since turned into anticipation at VfB, because a game at Celtic Park is always something special. From Stuttgart’s perspective, hopefully with a better ending for VfB.
8:00 p.m
Hello and welcome to the Europa League play-offs! In this intermediate round, VfB Stuttgart is fighting for a place in the round of 16 and will face Celtic Glasgow. The ball starts at 9 p.m. in the atmospheric Celtic Park and we’ll be there with the live ticker just in time before kick-off.