Bilal El Khannouss is Stuttgart's top scorer in the Europa League this season with five goals. - © Sebastian Widmann

bundesliga

VfB Stuttgart vs. Porto: UEFA Europa League round of 16 LIVE blog and team news

13.03.2026

VfB Stuttgart's top scorer on the continent, Bilal El Khannouss, returns to the starting line-up as the Swabians host Porto at the MHP Arena for the first leg of their UEFA Europa League round of 16 tie.

CONFIRMED team news

Stuttgart: Nübel – Nartey, Jeltsch, Chabot, Hendriks – Karazor (c), Stiller – El Khannouss, Undav, Leweling – Demirović

Porto: Diogo Costa (c) – Alberto Costa, Silva, Bednarek, Zaidu – Fofana, Rosario, Mora – Gomes, Moffi, Sainz

LIVE blog!

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Stuttgart

FIRST HALF

Porto

Europa League
Round of 16, first leg Round of 16, first leg MHP Arena

And we're off!

It's the visitors from Porto who get the ball rolling for this last 16 first leg tie - the first ever meeting between these sides.

Kick-off!

Warm-ups complete

Both sides have gone through their pre-match preparations here. Kick-off is fast approaching...

The boss is here!

Sebastian Hoeneß has completed his pre-match pitch inspection.

More on that Stuttgart side

Sebastian Hoeneß makes four changes to his team, which drew 2-2 with Mainz at the weekend. Three of those alterations are in defence: only Chabot remains in the back four, where he is joined by Jeltsch, Hendriks and Nartey, who replace Jaquez, Assignon and Mittelstädt, all of whom drop to the bench. The Swabians' Europa League top scorer El Khannouss (5), also comes in for Führich, who also takes his place among the substitutes.

More on that Porto side

Francesco Farioli has made a whopping eight changes from his side's last league outing. Goalkeeper Diogo Costa (pictured), and defenders Jan Bednarek and Alberto Costa are the only players to retain their places from Sunday's 2-2 draw with Benfica.

Stuttgart starting XI

Nübel – Nartey, Jeltsch, Chabot, Hendriks – Karazor (c), Stiller – El Khannouss, Undav, Leweling – Demirović

Stuttgart subs

Bredlow, Hellstern, Al-Dakhil, Mittelstädt, Tiago Tomás, Führich, Jacquez, Assignon, Bouanani, Chema

Porto starting XI

Diogo Costa (c) – Alberto Costa, Silva, Bednarek, Zaidu – Fofana, Rosario, Mora – Gomes, Moffi, Sainz

Porto subs

Ramos, João Costa, Kiwior, Froholdt, Veiga, Pepê, Prpić, Varela, Gül, Fernandes, Andrade, Moura

Demirović on his own personal improvements

“I think you can see on the pitch that I am more involved. I collect more touches, I am more part of the game, more involved in the play, and through that I get into many more situations where I can score goals. I also now have the feeling that it is not only about that. In the past it was the case that if I played well, it was because I had scored a goal. Now, the pressure is not there anymore that if I do not score then I also did not have a good game. Now it is more about playing well and then rewarding yourself with goals.”

Ermedin Demirović on Stuttgart's Europa League ambitions

"I do not see any opponent, whether in the league or in the Europa League or the cup, against whom we have no chance. Of course, there are players or clubs where it’s more difficult, but we simply have to be convinced of the quality we have. We have a great squad, we are in very good form. We have the bonus that when we play at home we’re really strong. Now, it isn’t pleasant for any opponent to come to Stuttgart."

Tiago Tomás on Stuttgart's season so far

"We're in a good starting position and are having a strong season in all three competitions. We want to win, no matter which competition. This mindset has gotten us this far."

Tiago Tomás on the Sporting v Porto rivalry

"In Portugal, there's a rivalry between the two teams. But that's not how I see the match – I have great respect for all clubs in Portugal. Many friends and my family will be in the stadium. I'm really looking forward to that."

Sebastian Hoeneß on Porto's style of play

"The team [Porto] has been newly assembled in the last 12-15 months. Porto play very intensely with a high willingness to sprint. Despite their athletic qualities, they also play really good football. Well organised, with very good individual players."

Sebastian Hoeneß on facing Porto

"It's an exceptionally strong opponent who could just as easily be in the Champions League round of 16. Porto is an absolute top team. We have a really big task ahead of us!"

Who could Stuttgart face in the quarter-finals?

Should the German side defeat Porto in the round of 16, they will face Nottingham Forest or FC Midtjylland in the quarter-final. Win that, and Stuttgart face the prospect of a semi-final against one of Aston Villa, Lille, Roma or Bologna.

Stuttgart vs. Portuguese clubs

The Swabians, meanwhile, have played five games against Portuguese teams, winning two, drawing one and losing the other two. They last did so in the 2010/11 Europa League, losing twice to Benfica in their round of 32 tie.

Porto vs. German clubs

Thanks to their storied European history, Porto have come up against German opposition on plenty of occasions in the past - 42 to be exact. They have won 17 of those games, and have also lost as many, therefore drawing eight. Their most recent meeting with a Bundesliga side came last season, when they beat Hoffenheim 2-0 in the league phase of this competition.

Porto held in Lisbon

Porto matched Stuttgart's scoreline this weekend - the league leaders drew 2-2 at Benfica, maintaining a seven-point advantage over their old rivals, who sit third. Second-placed Sporting also had to make do with a point at Braga, which means that Porto's lead at the top remains unchanged.

1:08

Watch: Mainz 2-2 Stuttgart - highlights

Top-four hopefuls Stuttgart were held by relegation-threatened Mainz after conceding a late Danny da Costa equaliser on Saturday.

2:05

Watch: Deniz the menace

Deniz Undav is VfB's leading marksman overall this season with 18 goals in 33 competitive outings.

On fire in Europe

Bilal El Khannouss is firmly in the race to finish as top scorer in the competition this season. The Morocco attacker has found the net five times so far, leaving in in fourth place and just two goals behind joint leaders Igor Jesus (Nottingham Forest) and Petar Stanić (Ludogorets).

1:04

Watch: Stuttgart's top 5 goals this season

Porto - the story so far

The Portuguese side finished fifth in the league phase, with five wins, two draws and one defeat, thereby going straight through to the last 16 and avoiding the knockout phase play-offs.

Stuttgart - the story so far

VfB narrowly missed out on a top-eight spot in the league phase (W5 D0 L3), ultimately ending up in 11th. As such, they had to navigate a play-off against Celtic, which they won 4-2 on aggregate.

Hello and welcome

Thank you for joining us for build-up and live match coverage of Stuttgart's meeting with Porto in the UEFA Europa League round of 16.

Stuttgart are one of four German teams still going well on all three fronts this season, in the running for a top-four spot and European qualification in the Bundesliga, into the semi-finals of the DFB Cup they currently hold, and now also in the last 16 of the Europa League.

Can Stuttgart go all the way in Europe?

Sebastian Hoeneß’s men finished the league phase in 11th place, just a point outside the top eight after a record of five wins and three defeats. They then saw off Celtic in the play-offs 4-2 on aggregate after an impressive 4-1 win in Glasgow afforded them a comfortable position.

Porto lead their domestic league ahead of defending champions Sporting Lisbon and were able to skip the knockout play-offs in the Europa League after coming fifth in the league phase with a record of five wins, two draws and one loss, finishing two points above Stuttgart.

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