Everton Faces Stuttgart in Pre-Season Showdown

By the time the Everton players wandered out at the MHPArena, the show had already started without them.

Forty-five minutes before kick-off, Stuttgart turned a routine pre-season friendly into a full-blown spectacle. Every member of the home squad received a wrestling-style introduction. Music blared, fireworks cracked, and each player stepped into the spotlight to their own song. It all began, naturally, with the mascot: Fritzle, an alligator, paraded in front of a crowd already in party mode – at one point even posing with a robot.

While Stuttgart basked in their own mini-opening ceremony, Everton emerged to almost complete silence. No fanfare, no flames, no walk-on tracks. Just a visiting Premier League side stepping into the heat of southern Germany, heads down and focused.

Heat, Noise and a Different Kind of Test

The MHPArena, a striking blend of old concrete bones and modern steel, sits on the banks of the Neckar River. On this sweltering afternoon, it felt like a cauldron. The stands filled steadily as Joe Thomas reported from high in the press box, watching an Everton side still very much in pre-season mode prepare for one of their sternest tests of the summer.

A week on from their 2-1 win in Hamburg, this was another chance to gauge fitness, sharpness and shape against strong Bundesliga opposition. The players were in the stadium early, but there was no rush to warm up. The heat dictated the tempo long before the first whistle.

Branthwaite and O’Brien: The Partnership People Wanted

On the teamsheet, one decision stood out. Jarrad Branthwaite and Jake O’Brien were paired together at centre-back – a combination many had wanted to see.

Branthwaite’s inclusion for a second successive weekend, alongside a start for Hayden Hackney, offered an encouraging sign over their fitness and readiness. O’Brien, meanwhile, was finally back where he belongs, in his natural role at the heart of defence. That clarity at centre-back came with a cost elsewhere.

With O’Brien central, someone had to plug the gap at right-back. That job fell to Merlin Röhl, the latest to be asked to adapt and sacrifice for the system. A square peg in a round hole, perhaps, but a necessary one as Everton continue to juggle resources in that position.

The right-back issue lingers beyond this one match. Since the trip to Hamburg, Christian Nørgaard has arrived, but still no specialist right-back has followed. The situation has grown so pointed that even Prime Minister Andy Burnham has weighed in publicly on the need to address it. The backdrop to this pre-season is not just about tactics and fitness; it is about recruitment and the gaps still glaring in the squad.

Midfield Questions, Attacking Rotation

The line-up hinted at a possible shift in shape. With Tim Iroegbunam, Armstrong and Hackney all named together, the midfield looked more like a 4-3-3 than a 4-2-3-1. That tweak would offer more protection for the experimental back line and a clearer structure in possession, but it also placed a heavier creative burden on those ahead of them.

Further forward, the job share up front continued. Beto and Thierno Barry have been taking turns to lead the line this summer, and that rotation remained in place. It is a simple, pragmatic approach: split the minutes, test combinations, and keep legs fresh as the workload ramps up.

One name brought a different kind of intrigue. Sam Dibling, in from the start, offered a potential spark. This felt like a key week for him, a window in which a good performance or two could shift his standing in the squad. The stage, in front of a raucous German crowd and a fired-up home side, was ideal for a young player looking to catch the eye.

World Cup Echoes and Split Focus

On the Stuttgart side, there was no Bilal El-Khannouss in the squad. The Moroccan, fresh from his World Cup exploits, had already enjoyed a hero’s welcome earlier in pre-season, but this was a day off rather than another curtain call.

Back in England, Everton’s world was split in two. While the first team went to work in Germany, Goodison Park opened its doors again. Preston North End faced Huddersfield Town in the Carabao Cup at 3pm, with men’s senior football returning to the Grand Old Lady for the first time since Everton’s 2-0 win over Southampton on May 18 of last year. Deepdale’s new pitch is still being bedded in, forcing Preston to shift their home tie to L4 and giving Everton’s old ground a timely, if temporary, encore.

So as one set of supporters watched their team test themselves abroad, another watched competitive cup football unfold on familiar turf.

A Glimpse Inside, and What Comes Next

In Stuttgart, the Everton dressing room told its own quiet story. Shirts hung, boots lined up, a calm scene waiting for the chaos outside. The question, as always in pre-season, was who would be trusted from the first whistle and who would be asked to change the game later on.

“Who will get the nod in the Blues’ starting line-up?” had been the question all morning. By the time the players finally emerged, the answers hinted at more than just fitness. There were clues about partnerships, about roles, about where the manager sees solutions and where he still sees problems.

One thing is clear: this is not a gentle, low-key summer schedule. A showpiece introduction for Stuttgart, a split focus with action at Goodison, transfer issues still unresolved, and a fanbase watching every selection for signs of the season to come.

In the middle of it all, under the German sun, Everton’s players stepped out without fireworks or theme tunes – just the noise of the crowd and the weight of a campaign starting to take shape.