As Stuttgart prepare to face Atalanta in their upcoming Europa League fixture, manager Sebastian Hoeness finds himself with a wealth of attacking talent at his disposal. The recent pairing of Deniz Undav and El Bilal Toure against Bayer Leverkusen could be reprised for Wednesday’s match, with Toure facing a potentially emotional encounter against his parent club.
Toure, who joined Stuttgart on loan this summer, will be eager to prove his worth after a challenging first year at Atalanta, where injuries limited him to just three goals. The Mali international will be competing for a starting spot alongside a host of other attacking options, including Enzo Millot, newly-capped German international Jamie Leweling, Ermedin Demirovic, Chris Fuhrich, and Fabian Rieder.
Stuttgart’s squad depth is somewhat compromised by injuries to Jeff Chabot, Yannik Keitel, Luca Raimund, and Dan-Axel Zagadou. However, there’s positive news as Swiss center-back Leonidas Stergiou has returned to training, and Ameen Al-Dakhil has recently recovered from a hip issue.
Atalanta, on the other hand, continue to grapple with long-term injuries to key Italian internationals Gianluca Scamacca and Giorgio Scalvini, both of whom are sidelined until the new year. There’s a silver lining for La Dea as Marco Brescianini made a late substitute appearance against Napoli after weeks out with a thigh injury.
In attack, Atalanta are likely to see Mateo Retegui return to the starting lineup after spending most of Sunday’s game on the bench. The Argentine striker, who joined from Genoa as Scamacca’s replacement, has been in impressive form, netting five goals in his first six Serie A away matches. He currently leads the Capocannoniere rankings by four goals.
Retegui is expected to be supported by the dynamic duo of Ademola Lookman and Charles De Ketelaere, forming a potent attacking trident that will test Stuttgart’s defense.
Stuttgart (4-4-2): Nubel; Vagnoman, Rouault, Chabot, Mittelstadt; Millot, Karazor, Stiller, Leweling; Undav, Toure
Atalanta (3-4-2-1): Carnesecchi; Djimsiti, Hien, Kolasinac; Bellanova, Ederson, De Roon, Ruggeri; De Ketelaere, Lookman; Retegui
