Everton vs Vfb Stuttgart: A Crucial Pre-Season Test
Everton step up their German tour this weekend with a far stiffer examination: Champions League-bound Vfb Stuttgart at the MHPArena.
David Moyes has seen his side ease into pre-season with steady, if unspectacular, progress. The late 2-1 win over Hamburg – sealed by a stoppage-time own goal from Jordan Torunarigha – kept the momentum rolling, but the real intrigue came earlier in that game. Merlin Röhl, back on home soil, struck the opener and offered a glimpse of why Everton have been so keen to build their midfield around his energy and drive.
That was Everton’s fourth outing of a busy summer. This fifth one feels different. Stuttgart are no soft warm-up act.
A Proper Test in Stuttgart
Sebastian Hoeneß has turned Stuttgart into one of the Bundesliga’s sharpest outfits. Fourth place last season, Champions League football secured, and a second straight DFB-Pokal final reached. This is the level Everton must measure themselves against if their Premier League preparations are to mean anything.
The pace, the press, the technical quality – all of it will climb a notch in Stuttgart. For Moyes, that’s exactly the point of this stop on tour. The margins get smaller, the mistakes more costly, and the questions about his squad a little louder.
Who is ready? Who needs more? Who is still short?
Norgaard Waits in the Wings
One answer will not come in Germany. Christian Norgaard, Everton’s newest recruit, will not feature against Stuttgart.
The Danish midfielder completed a £7m move from Arsenal earlier in the week, but the plan is clear: fitness first at Finch Farm, minutes later. He will link up with the squad once they return to England and could make his debut in the next pre-season fixture, against Newcastle United at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh on Wednesday.
For now, he watches from afar, knowing the shape of the midfield he is about to walk into is being tested without him.
World Cup Returnees Rejoin the Group
There is, though, a welcome injection of international quality. Iliman Ndiaye and Nathan Patterson are back with the group after extended breaks following their 2026 World Cup involvement. Both now push for their first pre-season minutes, and both bring attributes Moyes will want to see quickly.
Ndiaye offers guile and incision in the final third. Patterson brings aggression and thrust from full-back. If they are ready, even for a short spell, Everton’s tempo changes.
Jordan Pickford, who went deep into the tournament with England and reached the semi-finals, will join the squad only when they return from Germany. His absence hands more responsibility to the understudies, and another game for Moyes to assess his depth in goal.
James Garner remains out with a groin issue, a quieter but still notable absence in a midfield that will be stretched as the minutes pile up.
Shape and Selection
The outline of Everton’s plan is already visible. A 4-2-3-1 is expected again, with a predicted XI that looks like this:
Travers; O'Brien, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Mykolenko; Röhl, Ireogbunam, Dewsbury-Hall; Dibling, Barry, Ndiaye.
It is a side that blends established pillars with players still trying to nail down their place. James Tarkowski and Jarrad Branthwaite anchor the back line, while Vitaliy Mykolenko offers his usual reliability on the left. In front of them, Röhl’s box-to-box instincts and Kadan Ireogbunam’s physicality should give Everton a platform against Stuttgart’s slick midfield rotations.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, operating higher up, will look to knit the play and feed the front three. Behind the striker, the combination of Dibling, Barry and Ndiaye hints at movement, interchanging positions, and the kind of attacking variety that can trouble even a well-drilled Bundesliga defence.
For Moyes, this is where the pre-season moves from simple conditioning to genuine selection dilemmas.
Match Details
Kick-off is set for 4:00 pm BST on Saturday 8th August at the MHPArena in Stuttgart, Germany.
Supporters can watch the game live via evertontv, with one-time match passes available on a per-fixture basis. Those not tuning in can still follow the action through live updates on the ToffeeWeb Live Forum.
Germany has already given Everton a late winner and a confidence boost. Stuttgart will offer something else: a hard look in the mirror, with the Premier League now looming just around the corner.
