UEFA CL - Stuttgart at Real Madrid 

Game Thoughts: Defending titleholders Real Madrid kick off defense of their title against German side Stuttgart and the bar for this Spanish side is always set him. Despite opening up the La Liga season unbeaten in 5 games (3 wins, 2 draws) they've yet to hit their stride after adding Kylian Mbappe in the offseason to their already deadly attack. They come off what to me looked like their best game of the season at Real Sociedad winning 2-0 and despite the fact both goals came via penalty kicks, they created numerous scoring opportunities. Stuttgart had a great 2023/24 season to qualify but did lose their top scorer to Borussia Dortmund and a 1-1-1 start to the new season has been hampered by some defensive errors. They'll need to clean that up but against Real Madrid on the road may not be the best start. 

The play is Real Madrid -1.5 -130