Seeing that both teams finished last Bundesliga campaign in the bottom part of the table, it is clear that they are now hoping to show some improvement from the very start of the season.

Stuttgart squad haven’t seen major changes this summer, although Christian Trasch moved to Wolfsburg, while Ciprian Marica was released from his contract.

The Swabians added William Kvist, Tamas Hajnal and Francisco Maza Rodriguez to the squad, but they still look a bit short on quality needed to fight for European places.

VFB Stuttgart have been far from impressive in pre-season, so the odds of 2.38 (11/8) offered by Stan James on home win don’t look too tempting.

Coach Bruno Labbadia will have Serdar Tasci and Khalid Boulahrouz back from injury and suspension respectively, but the game comes too soon for Johan Audel, Julian Schieber and Timo Gebhart.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Ulreich – Celozzi, Tasci, Rodriguez, Molinaro – Kvist, Kuzmanovic – Harnik, Hajnal, Gentner – Cacau.

Following the real rollercoaster ride that was last season and an impressive Champions League campaign, Schalke are fully focused on the Bundesliga this term and that could yield good results.

There will be no European distractions for Schalke this season and that could prove to be a key advantage over their rivals for the Champions League finish.

With very good additions such as Lewis Holtby, Ralf Fahrmann, Christian Fuchs and Ciprian Marica, the Miners look ready for big things and I see a great value in odds of 3.00 (2/1) offered by 888Sport on Schalke to achieve a top 4 finish.

After some pretty good showings in pre-season and the Super Cup win over Borussia Dortmund, Ralf Rangnick’s side hammered lowly Teningen 11:1 on the German DFB Pokal, so they are clearly brimming with confidence at the moment.

Taking that into account, you should know the visitors are 3.25 (9/4) with Victor Chandler to win at Mercedes-Benz Arena.

Keeper Ralf Fahrmann, who impressed against Borussia Dortmund, has recovered from a hamstring injury and is set to start this game, while Peer Kluge returns to contention as well.

Jose Manuel Jurado remains a doubt, but Ciprian Marica and Jeferson Farfan are not yet ready to feature.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Fahrmann – Uchida, Howedes, Papadopoulos, Fuchs – Holtby, Matip – Draxler, Raul, Baumjohan – Huntelaar.