Preview: Stuttgart vs Mainz - Bundesliga MD1
Stuttgart host Mainz in season opener

Stuttgart will kick off their 2005-06 Bundesliga campain at home to Mainz. The Daimler-Gottlieb stadium faithful will be hoping for atleast a Champions League spot this season, a competition that new manager Claudio Ranieri has good experience of, during his time as manager of Chelsea and Valencia. He took Chelsea to the champions league before the arrival of Russian tycoon Roman Abramovich and then went on to take the team to the semi-finals next season.
Stuttgart are without new signing Jon Dahl Tomasson and left back Heiko Gerber. Tomasson suffered a pulled hamstring during the DFB Liga-Pokal semi-final against Schalke, while Gerber picked up a groin strain in the derby game against Karlsruher SC. The home side will also be missing the services of defender Martin Stranzl who joined Lecce in a ?1.7 million deal. It is however believed though that Ranieri is on the verge of landing either Marco Materazzi, Manuel Friedrich or Pablo Ib??ez to strengthen his team's defence.
Stuttgart also have had a good pre-season run under Ranieri, staying unbeaten throughout. Out of a total of five games played, they've won three and drawn two. And from those two drawn games, one was the 0-0 draw against Schalke in the DFB Liga-Pokal semi-final, which they lost 5-6 on penalties.
FC Mainz have still not made any public response to Vfb Stuttgart's reported interest in thei defender Manuel Friedrich. The visitors also are one of the favourites for relegation this season, and will be looking to get their season off to a winning start on Saturday.
However they did have an impressive first season back in the Bundesliga last year. Jurgen Klopp's team played with a style and confidence which belied their newly promoted status. Klopp knows his team will not be taken lightly this season, and he is hoping the recruitment of experienced midfielder Christian Springer will add some steel to the spine of his team. Klopp is promising to maintain his team's stylish approach this season.