Europa League: European Returnees Meet Again in Stuttgart

VfB Stuttgart vs Celta Vigo

​VfB Stuttgart and Celta Vigo are back in the European football stage, and both teams are eager to kick off their Europa League campaigns in style when they convene at the MHPArena this Thursday evening.

The hosts are in their second consecutive European competition for the first time in nearly 15 years. VfB Stuttgart competed in last year’s Champions League but failed to advance past the league phase, as they finished 26th in the standings. Sebastian Hoeneß’ men are in good form, as they are eighth in the Bundesliga standings with two wins and two losses, including last weekend’s 2-0 victory against FC St. Pauli.

On the other hand, Celta Vigo have yet to win a game this season. Claudio Giraldez’s side has notched one loss and five consecutive 1-1 draws, leaving them at 15th in the La Liga table with five points.

​Learn more about these two upstarts by continuing to read our SBOTOP preview below.

 

Talking Points

Demirovic in fine form for VfB Stuttgart

Ermedin Demirovic will continue to lead the attack for VfB Stuttgart, following his superb performance in their 2-0 win against FC St. Pauli. 

The Bosnia and Herzegovina forward headed home from a set piece in just the fourth minute, but the VAR waved off his goal. However, that didn’t discourage him from making an impact, as he scored the first goal of the match right before halftime when he received a clever pass from Jamie Lewelling and evaded three defenders to score. Bilal El Khannouss doubled Die Schwaben’s lead early in the second half, as the Moroccan midfielder received a lovely pass from Demirovic and calmly placed his shot beyond FC St. Pauli’s goalkeeper.

With Deniz Undav still out with a knee injury, VfB Stuttgart will continue to rely on Demirovic to produce up front. Leonidas Stergiou is also out due to an ankle injury, while Pascal Stenzel and Yannik Keitel have not been named in VfB Stuttgart’s Europa League squad. 

Chema Andres could keep his place in the starting XI alongside Angelo Stiller in the middle of the park after delivering a solid performance against FC St. Pauli. Atakan Karazor, Chris Fuhrich, and Badredine Bouanani are some of the team’s options off the bench.

 

Iglesias is carrying the scoring load for Celta Vigo

Celta Vigo can thank Borja Iglesias for keeping them afloat. The 32-year-old striker has scored Os Celestes’ last three goals, including two in stoppage time against Villarreal and Girona. Without those goals, Celta Vigo would’ve been in the relegation zone.

Because he’s in form, Iglesias should continue to lead up front for Celta Vigo, with Iago Aspas as a viable option off the bench. Aspas was part of the Os Celestes side, which reached the 2016-17 Europa League semi-finals, and he’ll be motivated to become the sixth-oldest goalscorer in the competition (38 years, 55 days).

Like VfB Stuttgart, Celta Vigo will miss several key players, namely Marcos Alonso (knee) and Williot Swedberg (ankle), for the trip to MHPArena.

 

History

Thursday marks the third European encounter between VfB Stuttgart and Celta Vigo. These two sides last faced off in the 2000-01 UEFA Cup Round of 16, as Os Celestes won 2-1 in the second leg after a goalless draw in the first leg in Stuttgart.

Celta Vigo are back in Europe for the first time since the 2016-17 Europa League, where they narrowly lost to Manchester United in the semi-finals. Os Celestes also reached two UEFA Cup quarter-finals and a Round of 16 in the Champions League, one which ended with an aggregate defeat to Arsenal.

VfB Stuttgart is competing in a major European tournament in back-to-back seasons for the first time since four consecutive seasons from 2007-08 to 2010-11. This will be their first Europa League appearance since 2012-13.

 

Betting Tip

The Europa League 2025 odds favor the hosts to take maximum points on Thursday. VfB Stuttgart are favoured at 1.92 to win, while Celta Vigo are 3.42 underdogs, and a draw is at 3.48 in the 1X2 market. With Die Schwaben playing well in recent games, we expect them to pull it off against their win-hungry counterparts.

Both teams should make it in this week’s Europa League 2025 highlights, with VfB Stuttgart likely to score more. With that said, bettors can also add Over 2.75 at 1.81 and Total Goals 2-3 at 2.06 to the parlay. Furthermore, a Correct Score of 1-1 – which would be unprecedented on Os Celestes’ part since it will be their sixth straight result – is priced at 7.00 your bet.

   

●●●

CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE FOOTBALL STORIES & ODDS

Stay updated with everything sports and betting.

Follow us on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.