VfB Stuttgart v Celtic – Team news, referee details, KO time & where to watch | OneFootball

Celtic are in Germany for this evening’s Europa League play-off second leg with VfB Stuttgart holding a commanding 4-1 advantage from the first leg at Celtic Park…

Callum McGregor walks out ahead of the UEFA Europa League 2025/26 Knockout Play-off First Leg match between Celtic FC and VfB Stuttgart at Celtic Park on February 19, 2026. (Photo by WM Sport Media/Getty Images)

Celtic have never won a competitive match in Germany, although Brendan Rodgers came very close this time last year against Bayern Munich in the Champions League play-offs.

Nicolas Kuehn of Celtic celebrates scoring his team’s first goal during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Knockout Play-off second leg match between FC Bayern München and Celtic FC at Allianz Arena on February 18, 2025 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images)

The prize for the winners of the tie is a round of 16 match against either face Braga or Porto, that’s almost certainly going to be VfB Stuttgart with Celtic essentially playing for pride after last week’s result which probably flatters the Bundesliga side who could be even more lethal playing in front of their own fans, who incidentally were tremendous at Celtic Park. 

Celtic fans show off their flags during the UEFA Cup fourth round second leg match between VFB Stuttgart and Glasgow Celtic held on February 27, 2003 at The Gottlieb-Daimler Stadium, VFB Stuttgart won the match 3-2, with Celtic winning the tie 5-4 on aggregate. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty images)

VfB Stuttgart will be without Jeff Chabot due to suspension, while Lazar Jovanovic is currently injured, while Celtic’s right back Julian Araujo didn’t travel with the squad yesterday afternoon, so will not feature this evening.

Arne Engels of Celtic has a shot on goal. Celtic v Livingston, Scottish Premiership, 11 Feb rural 2026. Photo Mark Runnacles IMAGO Shutterstock

Celtic have no other new injury concerns but the long term list remains significant with the likes of Cameron Carter-Vickers, Alistair Johnston and Jota all players who played in the play-off matches against Bayern Munich in the Champions League last season. Arne Engels has recently been added to that injury list and the club’s record signing is a certainly big miss for Celtic.

VfB Stuttgart v Celtic – Team News

19.02.2026 Celtic v Stuttgart, UEFA Europa League Knockout Round Play-Off 1st leg.Back row (L-R) Benjamin Nygren, Tomas Cvancara, Auston Trusty, Liam Scales, Paulo Bernardo, Kasper Schmeichel. Front row (L-R) Sebastian Tounekti, Julian Araujo, Daizen Maeda, Callum McGregor, Kieran Tierney Photo Kenny Ramsay IMAGO

Martin O’Neill looks set to resist the temptation to rest many of the players he will be looking to start at Ibrox on Sunday afternoon for what is a vitally important Glasgow Derby game against theRangers.  Auston Trusty will miss that game at Ibrox plus the following two domestic fixtures so is certain to play this evening.

The interim Celtic manager could replace Paulo Bernardo with Reo Hatate and will perhaps opt for Colby Donovan ahead of Anthony Ralston at right back with Julian Araujo watching from Glasgow.

Kasper Schmeichel looks dejected during the UEFA Europa League 2025/26 Knockout Play-off First Leg match between Celtic FC and VfB Stuttgart at Celtic Park on February 19, 2026. (Photo by WM Sport Media/Getty Images)

Kasper Schmeichel looks like retaining the gloves despite bing at fault for at least two of the VfB Stuttgart goals last week. Viljami Sinisalo is the obvious replacement but if the Great Dane starts the home side will be keen to test him as much as possible to see if there’s further joy to be had.

Predicted Celtic Team – Schmeichel; Donovan, Scales, Trusty, Tierney; McGregor (c), Nygren, Hatate; Maeda, Cvancara and Tounekti.

Subs: Sinisalo, Doohan; Saracchi, Murray, Ralston, McCowan, Bernardo Adamu, Yang, Iheanacho and Forrest.

Match Officials

UEFA.com earlier this week confirmed the match officials for VfB Stuttgart v Celtic match this evening.

Dani Carvajal of Real Madrid is shown a red card by Referee Irfan Peljto during the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Phase MD1 match between Real Madrid C.F. and Olympique de Marseille at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on September 16, 2025 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

Bosnian official Irfan Peljto has been selected to take charge of proceedings on the pitch. He will be supported by assistants Senad Ibrisimbegovic and Davor Beljo, while Milos Gigovic has been appointed as the fourth official.

In the VAR room, Spanish referee Carlos Del Cerro Grande has been appointed and will assisted by compatriot Guillermo Cuadra Fernández.

Referee Carlos del Cerro Grande looks on during the Copa Del Rey Quarter Final match between Valencia CF and Athletic Club at Estadio Mestalla on January 26, 2023 in Valencia, Spain. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

Peljto is no stranger to Scottish clubs in European competition. He previously refereed Celtic’s 0-0 draw away to Atalanta in Bergamo in October 2024. The official also referee’d the Ibrox club’s 2-0 Europa League loss to Athletic Club last season, as well as Union Saint-Gilloise’s victory over the Ibrox side in 2022.

Early Kick-off Time Warning

The VfB Stuttgart v Celtic Europa League play-off second leg tie takes place at the at the Neckarstadion aka MHP Arena in Stuttart this evening 26 February 2026 and the match kicks off at 5.45pm.

Where to Watch

Tonight’s the UEFA Europa League play-off match between VfB Stuttgart and Celtic will be broadcast live on TNT Sports and discovery+. The match kick-off is at 17:45 CPT*, with live coverage on TNT Sports 2 and discovery+ starting from 17:00.

TNT Sports is available across all major TV platforms, offering a line-up of up to four TV channels (TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports 2, TNT Sports 3, TNT Sports 4), and up to six digital or red-button channels (TNT Sports 5 to 10), and TNT Sports Ultimate plus TNT Sports Box Office HD. You can subscribe to TNT Sports through discovery+, BT, EE, Sky, and Virgin Media.

*Celtic Park Time.

No predicted score on this one folks. Just be glad when it’s over and we can turn our attention to the game on Sunday at Ibrox.

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