5 reasons Stuttgart will beat Atalanta

The Swabians showcased their titanium mental strength on Matchday 3 as they overcame the odds to beat Juventus in Turin. Despite coming off a four-match winless run, punctuated by a 4-0 loss to Bayern Munich just days prior, they took the game to the Old Lady of Italian football and secured the club’s first-ever win in the country. Although the excellent Enzo Millot saw a spot-kick denied Juve’s Player of the Match goalkeeper Mattia Perin, he did provide the assist as rising star El Bilal Touré came off the bench to score a stunning injury-time winner and clinch a deserved 1-0 win. By taking honour from their narrow defeat to European champions Real Madrid on Matchday 1 and all three points against another giant in the form of Juventus, Stuttgart have already proven their worth at the continent’s top table.

The pace, athleticism and deft touch that Touré showed to break through the Juve defence and slot past Perin were impressive, but they were no surprise to Stuttgart supporters. And nor will shock Atalanta, the club from which he joined Stuttgart on loan in the summer. The 23-year-old Mali international has made an instant impact in the south-west of Germany, notably by scoring in the 5-1 win over Borussia Dortmund and picking up a goal and assist in the 2-1 league win over Holstein Kiel. He looks set to pose his parent club plenty of problems either in Hoeneß's starting XI or as a disruptor off the bench. 

Watch: Touré continued his fine form in the victory over Kiel - highlights

Atalanta may have kept three successive clean sheets in the Champions League this season, but Stuttgart's attacking powers may well be perfectly placed to change that and it's not just Touré they need to keep an eye on. Alongside Touré, VfB have an embarrassment of riches, with Millot and Deniz Undav are in in devastating form. That's before you consider the likes of Ermedin Demirović, Chris Führich and Fabian Rieder, who are all vying for places in the final third. Hoeneß has shared minutes across his front line so far, but at no drop in quality. There have been 24 goals between those names, while Nick Woltemade - not registered for Europe - has scored twice more in the DFB Cup. It's been a true team effort and any disappointment over not making the starting XI has quickly disappeared, with Demirović, Touré and Undav all scoring important goals off the bench.

Watch: How VfB destroyed Dortmund - highlights

Stuttgart's victory in Turin looks to have been a potentially season-changing one as it has seemingly given Hoeneß's side both a major boost in confidence and results. Die Roten are now unbeaten in their past four matches, having followed up their Italian job with the aforementioned league win over Kiel and a midweek DFB Cup victory at home to Kaiserslautern by the same scoreline. They then held Bayer Leverkusen to a goalless draw at the BayArena. Like the Juve triumph, their cup win came coutesy of a late rally, both of which highlight the never-say-die attitude Stuttgart that this runs through the team. To ram home the point: VfB have scored no fewer than nine of their 17 league goals in the second-half of matches this term, with a league-high five in the final 15 minutes and two more in added-time.

As mentioned above, Stuttgart's recent form has been promising, and their capacity to get a result at the MHPArena is far from a novelty. They have now gone unbeaten in 19 consecutive matches across all competitions since October 2023 and that home form has been a huge factor in taking them from a relegation playoff finish to Champions League football in the space of a year. In six games at the MHPArena across all competitions this season, Stuttgart's for reads: P6, W3, D3. Home comforts such as this doubtless provide an extra element of psychological armour, and in a competition where every last detail counts, this could make all the difference.