Barcelona vs Stuttgart Club Friendly LIVE Football Score 31 Jul 2021

Barcelona will continue their preparations for the start of their 2021-22 campaign with a pre-season contest against German outfit Stuttgart on Saturday night. The La Liga giants have beaten Gimnastic and Girona in their two friendlies this summer, while Stuttgart have played four times in pre-season, recording three wins and one draw

Stuttgart started their preparations for the new season with a 10-1 victory over Hollenbach on July 6 before recording a 3-0 win over St Gallen four days later. The Bundesliga outfit then played out a 1-1 draw with Darmstadt on July 14 before beating Arminia Bielefeld 5-2 on July 23, with the team building towards the start of their 2021-22 campaign.

The clash with Barcelona actually represents Stuttgart’s final pre-season match of the summer, as they will take on BFC Dynamo in the DFB Pokal on August 7 before opening their Bundesliga campaign at home to newly-promoted Greuther Furth on August 14. The Reds, who finished ninth in Germany’s top flight last term, have been relatively busy during this summer’s transfer window, signing Florian Muller, Chris Fuhrich, Naouirou Ahamada and Omer Beyaz.

Head coach Pellegrino Matarazzo will view this contest as valuable preparation for the start of competitive action on August 7, and it will be interesting to see how the German side perform against the Catalan giants Barcelona, meanwhile, have played twice during pre-season, recording a 4-0 victory over Gimnastic on July 21 before beating Girona 3-1 last weekend.

The La Liga club’s financial problems are well documented, and Lionel Messi has still not officially signed a new contract at the club, which is far from ideal this close to the start of competitive action. However, Ronald Koeman’s side have managed to sign Memphis Depay, Sergio Aguero and Eric Garcia on free transfers this summer, and an announcement on Messi is not believed to be too far away.

Barcelona will take on Red Bull Salzburg and Juventus in their next two matches after this one on August 4 and August 8 respectively before opening their 2021-22 La Liga campaign at home to Real Sociedad on August 15. Messi might still be unavailable, but a strong squad has travelled to Germany, with the likes of Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba, Frenkie de Jong and Sergi Roberto set to feature on Saturday evening.

Barcelona take their pre-season preparations up a notch this weekend as they take on VfB Stuttgart at the Mercedes-Benz Arena on Saturday. The Catalans have an impressive blend of youth and experience at the moment and have a point to prove in this match.

VfB Stuttgart have been fairly inconsistent over the past year and will need to be at their best in this fixture. The German outfit secured a ninth-place finish in the Bundesliga last season and will need to make the most of their pre-season friendlies this summer.

Barcelona, on the other hand, have been active in the transfer market and have grown as a unit under Ronald Koeman. The Catalan giants have been impressive this month and will be intent on securing another victory this weekend.

VfB Stuttgart vs Barcelona Head-to-Head

Barcelona have a predictably excellent record against VfB Stuttgart and have won three out of four matches played between the two teams. VfB Stuttgart have never defeated Barcelona and will need to take it up a notch on Saturday.

The previous meeting between the two teams took place over a decade ago in 2010 and ended in a 4-0 victory for Barcelona. VfB Stuttgart face an uphill battle this weekend and will need to be at their best this weekend.

VfB Stuttgart form guide: W-D-W-W-W

Barcelona form guide: W-W-W-D-W

VfB Stuttgart vs Barcelona Team News

fB Stuttgart

VfB Stuttgart’s new signing Chris Fuhrich is currently recovering from surgery and has been ruled out of this fixture. Orel Mangala and Silas Mvumpa are also injured and will be excluded from the squad.

Injured: Chris Fuhrich, Orel Mangala, Silas Mvumpa, Sasa Kalajdzic, Lilian Egloff, Momo Cisse

Barcelona

Ansu Fati, Philippe Coutinho, Ousmane Dembele, and Marc-Andre ter Stegen are currently recovering from long-term injuries and have been ruled out of this match. Pedri, Eric Garcia, and Oscar Mingueza are representing Spain at the Olympics and will be unable to feature in this game.

Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, and Jordi Alba are enjoying extended breaks after a gruelling summer of international football. Memphis Depay scored his first goal for Barcelona last week and could start this game.

Injured: Ansu Fati, Philippe Coutinho, Ousmane Dembele, Marc-Andre ter Stegen

Doubtful: None

Unavailable: Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero, Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets

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VfB Stuttgart vs Barcelona Predicted XI

VfB Stuttgart Predicted XI (4-4-2): Fabian Bredlow; Atakan Karazor, Pascal Stenzel, Waldemar Anton, Borna Sosa; Wataru Endo, Clinton Mola, Daniel Didavi, Philipp Forster; Mohamed Sankoh, Tanguy Coulibaly