Champions League

VFB Stuttgart VfB Stuttgart - VIK Viking Viking

Stuttgart VfB Stuttgart

Viking Viking

Wed, 09.09.202616:45 PM

MHPArena

Viking draw against Sandefjord

In their quest to retain Norwegian league title, Henrik Bjørdal's strike in the fourth minute of added time on Friday secured a valuable point against Sandefjord.

Predicted line-up: VfB Stuttgart

Predicted Formation:4-2-3-1

The confirmed starting line-up will be published around 60 minutes before kick-off.

Hoeneß pleased with Cologne win ahead of Viking test

“We delivered exactly what we set out to do on the pitch. The lads played with intensity, pressure and speed, which was good. We scored very nice goals and it was a well-earned win.”

0:56

Watch: Stuttgart 4-1 Cologne

Stuttgart warmed up for their UEFA Champions League opener in style on Friday night with a powerful display of attacking - and some special individual goals.

Stuttgart's 25-man A-list squad

Stuttgart have named their 25-man A-list squad for the tournament: Fabian Bredlow, Marius Funk, Ameen Al-Dakhil, Lorenz Assignon, Jeff Chabot, Ramon Hendriks, Luca Jaquez, Finn Jeltsch, Maximilian Mittelstädt, Josha Vagnoman, Alexander Groiß, Dominik Nothnagel, Bilal El Khannouss, Chris Führich, Atakan Karazor, Jamie Leweling, Nikolas Nartey, Grischa Prömel, Angelo Stiller, Tiago Tomás, Ermedin Demirović, Dženan Pejčinović, Leo Sauer, Deniz Undav.

3:14

Watch: Every Undav goal in 25/26

Stuttgart's new captain will be eager to lead example from the off here after a stellar 2025/26.

Who are Viking?

Viking are Norway's joint-second most successful club after Rosenborg, winning the league title on nine occasions. They were crowned champions in 2025 for the first time in 34 years, and are currently three points adrift of leaders Bodø/Glimt in 2026. Their best European performance came in 2005/06, when they played their maiden group stage as they competed in the Europa League, drawing 0-0 with Hamburg on their way to a fourth-place finish out of five.

Head-to-head

Stuttgart are yet to play Viking, but have previously gone up against Norwegian opposition on four occasions. All of the fixtures came versus Molde in the Europa League, with the Swabians winning just once.

Viking in Europe: 2025/26

Viking competed in the Conference League in 2025/26, but were unable to reach the league phase. Their second qualifying round tie was comfortable enough as they hammered Koper of Slovenia 12-3 on aggregate, but they were beaten in the third round by Türkiye's İstanbul Başakşehir 4-2 across two legs.

Stuttgart in Europe: 2025/26

Sebastian Hoeneß's men produced a solid league phase in last season's Europa League as they finished 11th, winning five of their eight games and losing the other three. They had too much for Celtic in the play-off round, but were ultimately eliminated 4-1 on aggregate by Porto in the round of 16.

Welcome

Follow all of the build-up and live action as VfB Stuttgart kick off the league phase of the UEFA Champions League with the visit of Norwegian outfit Viking on Wednesday (kick-off 6.45pm CEST).