Another chance goes begging, this time for the prolific Denis Undav.

He's unable to reproduce his heroics from the World Cup for Germany, as his effort is saved by Marvin Schwabe in the Cologne goal.

HOW HAS THAT NOT GONE IN?!

Josh Vagnoman gets round the back of the Cologne defence and is presented with a golden opportunity to give Stuttgart the lead.

Bilal El Khannouss' cross picks out the defender brilliantly, but his volleyed effort agonisingly strikes off the bar before bouncing back out into play.

The home side are denied by the woodwork once again, as Dzenan Pejcinovic's header strikes the bar post minutes later.

Stuttgart are knocking.

Stuttgart have started strongly, clearly looking to put that 5-1 thrashing at the hands of Bayern Munich behind them as soon as possible.

That man Dzenan Pejcinovic gets the first attempt at goal in the game, but the Stuttgart striker's effort from the edge of the area sails over the bar.

Cologne are inviting the pressure onto themselves, as they persist with playing out from the back under manager Rene Wagner and Stuttgart are showing signs they will be willing and ready to pounce on any loose passes in defence.

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Stuttgart’s Dzenan Pejcinovic will be looking to cause problems for Cologne’s back line this evening. The German forward signed earlier in the summer from Wolfsburg and bagged himself a hat-trick on his debut for the club in a 4-1 win over Hansa Rostock in the DFB-Pokal.

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Linton Maina takes up the role of Said El Mala for Cologne on the left flank, who misses the match due to illness. The German winger came on in place of El Mala in Cologne’s 3-2 win over Hoffenheim and assisted the Billy Goat’s second goal inside ten minutes of coming onto the pitch.

We are underway at the MHP Arena!

Kick-off delayed by a few minutes as the referee waits for the smoke from the home crowd's fireworks display to dissipate.

Stuttgart make two changes from their damaging 5-1 defeat to Bayern Munich on matchday one, as Bilal El Khannouss and Chris Fuhrich come in for Tiago Tomas and Ramon Hendriks.

Sebastian Hoeness has also opted for a change in shape to sure his side up in defence, opting for a 4-4-2 formation over the 3-4-3 implemented in last week's defeat in Bavaria.

Image source, BBC Sport

Meanwhile, Cologne make one change from their thrilling 3-2 win over Hoffenheim last weekend, as Linton Maina comes in for Said El Mala at left wing.

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Cologne, on the other hand, have had a great start to the season, coming from behind twice to beat last season highfliers Hoffenheim 3-2 at home. This was their first win in the league since April and they will hope to kick on from here after a fairly miserable 2025/26 season, which only saw them win seven times in the league

The Billy Goats have had a busy summer, in which they’ve added some talent amongst the squad, bringing in Manchester City pair Jahmai Simpson-Pusey and Reigan Heskey, son of Emile, on permanent deals, as well as Tottenham’s Mikey Moore on loan. Despite the exciting young talent they’ve brought in, their biggest success of the summer was keeping hold of Said El Mala, who attracted a lot of interest during the window.

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Stuttgart will be looking to bounce back after a heavy defeat to German champions Bayern Munich, which saw them on the receiving end of a 5-1 thrashing on the opening day of the Bundesliga.

Despite that, the Swabians won’t be too concerned by the start. Last season saw them also lose their first match of the season, a 2-1 away defeat to Union Berlin, before bouncing back with a 1-0 win at home to Gladbach and ending the season with Champions League football.

They have also strengthened their squad from last season, including securing the permanent signing of Bilal El Khannouss who they had on loan last season, and will hope the defeat on Friday was a blip in a run of good form.

Image source, Getty Images

Good evening and welcome back to another Friday night of Bundesliga action here on the BBC. Our offering this week is a clash between two sides that have had contrasting starts to their seasons.

German giants Stuttgart look for their first win of the new Bundesliga season as they host a Cologne side looking for back-to-back wins in the league for the first time since the start of last season.

This match has been played out 108 times in all fixtures, with very little to split the two sides. Of those 108 matches, Stuttgart have walked away with 40 wins whilst Cologne have gone one better with 41 wins. Despite this, Stuttgart will be confident going into the match, being undefeated against this week’s opponents in their last seven meetings, whilst the Billy Goats have to go as far back as the opening day of 2015/16 season for an away win in Stuttgart in the league.