AS Roma (away)
Under new coach Gian Piero Gasperini, the Giallorossi are aiming to reestablish themselves among Italy’s top five and play a more attacking brand of football. After an up-and-down last season, the ex-club of Mats Hummels managed to secure fifth place in Serie A and will be hoping for a more stable campaign now. One of their key players is French international Manu Koné, who previously played for Borussia Mönchengladbach and featured in almost every game last season.
Roma and Stuttgart have never met in competitive action. The three-time Italian champions reached the semi-finals of the 2023/24 Europa League, where they were narrowly beaten by Bayer Leverkusen. The Stadio Olimpico in Rome holds up to 72,698 spectators.
Feyenoord (home)
In contrast, Feyenoord are VfB’s most-played opponents in Europe – the two sides having already faced each other eight times, with all eight coming in the UEFA Cup. Although the record is even with three wins apiece and two draws, VfB emerged victorious in three of the last four. The last meeting was in the 2000/01 campaign in the third round of the competition. Krassimir Balakov’s last-minute penalty earned a 2-1 win in the home leg, followed by a 2-2 draw in the return game. VfB signed defender Ramon Hendriks from the Rotterdam club last summer.
Feyenoord have won their opening two league games in the Eredivisie. They’re in the Europa League after coming up short against Fenerbahçe in the penultimate round of Champions League qualifying.
Fenerbahçe (away)
The Turkish giants were themselves knocked out in the final round of qualifying for the Champions League against Benfica. The Istanbul club subsequently parted company with head coach Jose Mourinho. They also competed in the Europa League last year after failing to qualify for the Champions League, progressing through the league phase after beating the likes of Union Saint-Gilloise and Slavia Prague. They were beaten by Rangers in the round of 16. The Yellow Canaries are currently second behind Galatasaray in their domestic league.
Fenerbahçe and VfB have never played each other before. The last time the Turkish side came up against German opposition was in 2021, when they played out two 1-1 draws against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League.
The stadium is officially known as the ‘Chobani Stadyumu FB Şükrü Saraçoğlu Spor Kompleksi’ – or the ‘Ülker Stadi’ for short – and has a capacity of around 50,000.
Maccabi Tel Aviv (home)
Israel’s record champions came through the play-offs somewhat surprisingly against Dynamo Kyiv and qualified for the Europa League, as they did last season. That came after they lost to Pafos FC from Cyprus in qualification for the league phase for this year’s Champions League. VfB have never played Maccabi Tel Aviv in a competitive fixture.
Maccabi are not only the oldest football club in Israel but also the most successful with 24 league championships and 23 cup wins. They were eliminated from the league phase of the 2024/25 Europa League after finishing in 29th place with two wins and six defeats.
FC Basel (away)
After being knocked out of Champions League qualifying, Basel head into the Europa League with 125-time Swiss international and ex-Bayern Munich man Xherdan Shaqiri as captain and former VfB player Ludovic Magnin as head coach. Magnin made 134 appearances for Stuttgart between 2005 and 2010.
It’s almost 50 years since the two teams last met. In 1978, VfB won 7-3 on aggregate in the UEFA Cup, with Hansi Müller and Dieter Hoeneß among the goalscorers. It’s been an underwhelming start to the current league campaign for Basel, with two wins and two defeats leaving them in fifth place.
Basel’s home stadium, St. Jakob-Park, holds 38,512 spectators.
Young Boys (home)
The 17-time Swiss champions and opponents of VfB in last year’s league phase of the Champions League came through the play-offs against Bratislava, another of VfB’s opponents last season. Young Boys lost all eight of their games in Europe’s premier club competition last term, including a 5-1 defeat at the MHP Arena.
VfB have a positive record against the Bern outfit. In the 2010/11 Europa League group stage, there was one win and one defeat (3-0/2-4).
Young Boys currently sit in sixth place in the Super League after a heavy 4-1 defeat to Basel as well as two draws and one victory. Fabian Rieder, who spent last season on loan at VfB from Stade Rennes, played for Young Boys until 2023.
Go Ahead Eagles (away)
The Go Ahead Eagles from Deventer are certainly the team with the most creative name in the Europa League. The Eagles qualified for the competitions as winners of the KNVB Cup, the first cup success in the club’s history and also their first trophy in 92 years. The Go Ahead Eagles and VfB have never met before.
The stadium De Adelaarshorst (‘The Eagle’s Nest’ in English) holds just over 10,000 people.
Following the departure of cup-winning coach Paul Simonis to VfL Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga over the summer, Go Ahead have started slowly in the Eredivisie. After two draws and one defeat, they sit in 13th place.
Celta Vigo (home)
Having beaten the Spanish side 2-1 in a friendly just a few weeks ago, VfB will now be hoping to repeat that in a competitive fixture. After almost a quarter of a century, it’s time for revenge for the elimination in the last 16 of the 2000/01 UEFA Cup. Celta Vigo progressed with a 2-1 win at home following a goalless draw in Stuttgart.
Celta qualified for the Europa League as a result of finishing seventh in La Liga. They last took part in a European competition in the 2016/17 season, when they reached the semi-finals of the Europa League.
It’s not been a great start to the league season in Spain, with two draws and one loss from three games. Head coach Claudio Giráldez, who has gained a reputation for his youth development, has been at the helm since April 2024 and led the club back into Europe with attractive football and increasing success.
