Everton Faces Stuttgart in Pre-Season Showdown
At the MHPArena on the banks of the Neckar, the football felt almost secondary at first.
Forty-five minutes before kick-off, the lights dimmed, the music boomed and VfB Stuttgart turned a pre-season friendly into a full-scale production. One by one, every member of the home squad was introduced in wrestling or boxing style, complete with their own song, announcement and fireworks. It all began, naturally, with Fritzle – the club’s alligator mascot – parading out to a hero’s welcome, even posing for photos with a robot on the touchline.
Stuttgart’s players basked in the noise. Then, almost sheepishly by comparison, Everton emerged to little more than a polite acknowledgment as the stadium MC carried on with interviews on the pitch. The contrast was striking. Stuttgart in carnival mode; Everton here to work.
Heat, noise and a different kind of test
It was sweltering in southern Germany, the MHPArena a striking mix of old and new architecture rising above the river. The stands slowly filled as the afternoon wore on, the sense of occasion growing for Everton’s second pre-season outing on German soil, a week after their 2-1 win in Hamburg.
Joe Thomas checked in from the press box as the players arrived, noting that Everton were in the building but holding back on the warm-up. This was no low-key run-out behind closed doors. This was a proper away day, against strong opposition, in front of an engaged crowd determined to enjoy every second of their summer show.
Back in England, Goodison Park was stirring too. While the first team went through their paces in Stuttgart, the old ground was preparing to host Preston North End against Huddersfield Town in the Carabao Cup. With the new pitch at Deepdale still being bedded in, senior men’s football returned to the Grand Old Lady for the first time since Everton’s 2-0 win over Southampton on May 18 last year. Two very different fixtures, one club stretching itself across two countries on the same afternoon.
Branthwaite, O’Brien and a defensive glimpse
For all the pyrotechnics and theatre, the real intrigue for Everton lay in the team sheet. The headline was at the back. Jarrad Branthwaite and Jake O’Brien were paired together in central defence, a combination many had wanted to see and one that offers a glimpse of what could come.
Branthwaite, starting on consecutive weekends, and Hayden Hackney both made the XI, an encouraging sign for their fitness as pre-season ramps up. O’Brien, meanwhile, was finally deployed in his natural role at centre-back, a move that brought a sense of clarity to the back line.
There was, inevitably, a trade-off. With O’Brien in the middle, someone had to fill in at right-back. That responsibility fell to Merlin Röhl, the latest to take on the square-peg-in-round-hole assignment on the flank in the absence of a new specialist signing. The right-back situation has dragged on long enough to draw comment from all corners, even prompting Prime Minister Andy Burnham to weigh in on the debate over the club’s recruitment.
Midfield questions and a chance for Dibling
The midfield shape offered another talking point. With Tim Iroegbunam, Armstrong and Hackney all named, the set-up looked more like a 4-3-3 than the familiar 4-2-3-1. It hinted at a tweak in balance – an extra body in the middle, perhaps, and a different way of controlling games against technically sharp European opponents.
There was encouragement too in the inclusion of Tyler Dibling from the start. This week, and this game in particular, felt like an ideal moment for him to find rhythm and confidence. Pre-season can drift by for some; for others, it becomes the launchpad. Dibling has the chance to make it the latter.
Up front, the job share continued. Beto and Thierno Barry carried on their rotation, taking turns to lead the line as the coaching staff weighed up combinations and chemistry. No drama, just a clear plan to spread minutes and maintain competition.
A missing World Cup hero and the mood in Stuttgart
On the Stuttgart side, there was one notable absentee. Bilal El-Khannouss, fresh from his exploits with Morocco at the World Cup, did not make the squad. He had already enjoyed his moment, though, one of those given a hero’s welcome by the home crowd for his international performances.
The atmosphere never really dipped. Between the booming introductions, the mascot antics and the steady flow of fans into the ground, this felt like more than a routine friendly. For Stuttgart, it was a celebration. For Everton, it was a serious checkpoint in their summer.
Inside the away dressing room, laid out and pristine before the players arrived, the questions were straightforward but important. How would this back-four experiment hold up? Could the midfield trio give Everton control against such a buoyant home side? Who would seize the opportunity to impress with the season edging closer?
Everton have already added Christian Nørgaard since the Hamburg trip, a sign that the squad is still evolving. The right-back vacancy remains, the talking points keep coming, and the margin for error shrinks with every passing week.
Germany provided the fireworks. Everton’s task now is to show that behind the noise and the novelty, there is a team quietly taking shape for what lies ahead.
