Stuttgart Starts Dennis Seimen Against Atletico Madrid

VfB Stuttgart handed goalkeeper Dennis Seimen his UEFA Champions League debut against Atletico Madrid at the MHP Arena in Stuttgart on Tuesday, October 20, 2026. Coach Sebastian Hoeness selected the 20-year-old to start in the third round of the league phase, with Fabian Bredlow named among the substitutes after covering for Seimen during his recovery from a lengthy injury. According to German sports outlet Ligaportal, Seimen had already returned to Bundesliga action in Stuttgart's 2-0 win over SC Paderborn and 0-1 defeat against Hamburger SV.

Bredlow, 31, had started the team's previous Champions League match against Slovan Bratislava despite Seimen having been designated the club's first-choice goalkeeper before the season. Stuttgart entered the Atletico match with two wins from its opening Champions League fixtures, beating Viking Stavanger and Slovan Bratislava. The team's European record offered a contrast with its inconsistent domestic results, including the recent loss to Hamburg, according to reports from OneFootball and ran.

Stuttgart's confirmed starting lineup featured Seimen in goal, with Josha Vagnoman, Jeff Chabot, Ramon Hendriks and Maximilian Mittelstädt in defense. Mittelstädt returned to the starting lineup after an injury, while Angelo Stiller and Grischa Prömel formed the midfield partnership.

Jamie Leweling, Bilal El Khannouss and Chris Führich were selected behind captain Deniz Undav, who led the attack. Ermedin Demirovic, Stuttgart's leading scorer in the opening two Champions League games with four goals, began the match on the bench. Atletico Madrid arrived in Germany after winning six consecutive competitive matches across domestic and European competitions, according to OneFootball's pregame report. The Spanish side had beaten Manchester United 2-0 in the Champions League but previously lost 1-2 away to Liverpool in its opening fixture.

Atletico's starting lineup included goalkeeper Jan Oblak, with Marcos Llorente, Marc Pubill, Dávid Hancko and Alejandro Grimaldo in defense. Hjulmand, Pablo Barrios, Álex Baena and Giuliano Simeone were also named in the starting team, alongside David and Julián Álvarez in attack. The October 20 meeting was the first competitive encounter between Stuttgart and Atletico Madrid, according to OneFootball. Both clubs therefore entered the fixture without a previous head-to-head record to draw on.

Kickoff was scheduled for 9 p.m. local time at the MHP Arena. German broadcaster ran reported that the match was not available on free-to-air television and that live coverage was offered through a paid Amazon Prime subscription.