Preview: Stuttgart vs Everton - prediction, team news, lineups

Everton continue their preparation for the start of the Premier League in August with a friendly clash against hosts Stuttgart at MHPArena on Saturday.

The Bundesliga side will be looking forward to their coming campaign having secured Champions League football, whereas Everton will hope to avoid being dragged closer to the bottom three in 2026-27.

Match preview

Stuttgart begin their competitive campaign on August 21 in the DFB-Pokal against Hansa Rostock, exactly a week before the start of their league season against reigning champions Bayern Munich.

The Bundesliga club finished fourth in the top flight in 2025-26, qualifying for the Champions League for a second time in three seasons.

Manager Sebastian Hoeness has been widely praised for his offensive style of play, with his team's return of 71 league goals last term only bettered by Bayern.

At the other end of the pitch, the 49 goals they conceded was the second worst record in the top six, though they have only conceded three goals in their four pre-season friendlies so far.

MHPArena has been somewhat of a stronghold for Die Roten considering they ended their Bundesliga campaign having lost just two and won 12 of their 17 matches at the ground, and they have won three and drawn one of their past four clashes at the stadium.

Everton's game on Saturday is their final one outside of the UK, with the club still having three more friendlies to play after the weekend before their opening match of the Premier League season on August 22 against Crystal Palace.

The Toffees will have mixed feelings about 2025-26, as while they finished 13th and avoided a relegation battle, their points tally of 49 was only one better than the total they achieved in 2024-25.

David Moyes also came under some scrutiny for failing to guide the club to a European spot given nine teams from the division qualified for a UEFA competition.

The Merseysiders concerningly ended their league season winless in seven fixtures - they suffered four defeats in that time - and they have won two, drawn one and lost one of their four friendlies this summer.

Everton failed to win any of their final five away contests, suffering three losses, and they conceded nine goals while scoring on just five occasions in that period.

Stuttgart friendly form:

Everton friendly form:

Team News

Stuttgart have used both a back three and a back four under Hoeness, and if he was to use a three-man defence against Everton, then Finn Jeltsch, Dan-Axel Zagadou and Maximilian Mittelstadt could feature.

Midfielder Angelo Stiller returned to training on July 31, and he will likely be given minutes in midfield, while returning talisman Deniz Undav may start up front.

Undav could be joined by Ecuadorian Jeremy Arevalo, who might expect a greater role in the first team in the coming season after joining in January 2026.

Everton signed midfielder Christian Norgaard from Arsenal on Wednesday, and he could be thrown straight into the lineup alongside someone such as Hayden Hackney.

Moyes fielded centre-backs James Tarkowski and Jarrad Branthwaite against Hamburger SV on August 1, and the pair may be trusted together again.

Tyrique George is almost certain to appear in a wide role in attack, while Iliman Ndiaye has returned to training and will no doubt be given minutes on Saturday.

Stuttgart possible starting lineup:

Bredlow; Jeltsch, Zagadou, Mittelstadt; Jovanovic, Andres, Stiller, Fuhrich; Nartey; Arevalo, Undav

Everton possible starting lineup:

Travers; O'Brien, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Mykolenko; Hackney, Norgaard; George, Dewsbury-Hall, Ndiaye; Barry