bundesliga preview: vfb stuttgart - schalke 04
 
the 45th bundesliga season kicks-off at the gottlieb-daimler-stadion tonight with champions vfb stuttgart hosting last seasons runners-up schalke 04 in front of an expectant nation. brian a. odriscoll in berlin previews the weekends big game and celebrates the return of the german championship.
 
date:10.08.2007 20:30
venue: gottlieb-daimler-stadion, stuttgart

referee: fandel (kyllburg)
assistants: pickel (mendig), willenborg (osnabrück)
fourth official: sather (grimma)

vfb stuttgart (4-1-4-1): r. schäfer; osorio, tasci, fernando meira, boka; pardo; hilbert, khedira, da silva, hitzlsperger; marica

schalke 04 (4-2-1-3): neuer; rafinha, bordon, krstajic, pander; f. ernst, kobiashvili; özil; asamoah, kuranyi, lövenkrands

last season: 3-0
last 5 fixtures in stuttgart: 3-0, 2-0, 3-0, 0-0, 1-1
overall: stuttgart 25, schalke 9, draws 3

and so, were off. season 45 in the great scheme of things opens in stuttgart tonight with the newly-crowned champions confronting the team they beat in the race for the championship less than three short months ago.

let there be no doubt: stuttgart fully deserved their title. by winning their last eight matches in a row, armin vehs team showed character and resolve at a time when others, notably werder bremen, bayern münchen, and tonights opponents were dropping points at an alarming rate.

therein lies the charge levelled at schalke: mental weakness. leading for most of the way, mirko slomkas team crumbled when it mattered, dropping points at neighbours bochum and dortmund to allow the fast-finishing swabians in.

tonight, there will be much talk of revenge and of score-settling. none of it amounts to anything more than a hat of crabs. the focus for both sides is not what went before, but what lies ahead.

once again, the champions must do without star striker mario gomez. a thigh strain keeps him out of the season opener and threatens his availability for the early weeks of the campaign. adding to vehs problems is strike partner, cacau. the brazilian is a serious doubt for the game. if he loses both attackers, the coach will opt for a 4-1-4-1 formation with new arrival ciprian marica alone up front. sadly, the new campaign has come much too soon for sumptuously talented yildiray bastürk, a new signing from hertha bsc.   

slomka is without halil altintop who has a heel problem. gerald asamoahs good form in the dfb pokal last weekend is enough to ensure a start in his stead, and he should join kevin kuranyi, formerly of stuttgart, in attack.

recent form suggests a stuttgart win, with the blues failing to score on their last three visits. however, these two sides have been well-matched over the last five years, with schalke edging the overall balance: four wins to stuttgarts three in the last 10 meetings. there is little between them.

pushed to call it, this observer would lean toward the home side with some reservations. if the title celebrations have been shaken from the collective system, i cant see stuttgart falling flat in front of their own adoring fans. schalke have more to prove, but the best theyll manage is a draw if veh has succeeded in keeping the new champions focused. 1-0.

brian a. odriscoll

now, read mathew burts weekend preview for a look ahead to the entire opening round programme.