Trapattoni's new-look Stuttgart face first test

Giovanni Trapattoni will get a first clue as to the scale of the task facing him at VfB Stuttgart when his weakened team face Hertha Berlin in the pre-season League Cup in Duesseldorf today.

Stuttgart have lost three of their leading players since the end of last season, with striker Kevin Kuranyi going to Schalke 04, Belarus playmaker Alexander Hleb to Arsenal and defender Philipp Lahm to Bayern Munich.

Trapattoni, the experienced Italian who replaced Matthias Sammer after the side drifted to fifth last term, has gambled on Denmark striker Jon Dahl Tomasson from Milan to replace Kuranyi.

The club have brought in more reinforcements, including Ludovic Magnin from Werder Bremen and Thomas Hitzlsperger from Aston Villa, but Hleb's departure in particular will leave a gaping hole.

The pre-season League Cup generates little interest in Germany but Trapattoni is eager to do well on his competitive debut, with a semi-final against his former club Bayern Munich on Tuesday at stake.

"I'd like to win against Hertha because it's my first real match here," Trapattoni said.

"It would also be fantastic to play Bayern Munich.

"Tomasson has only been training a few days so we'll have to see whether it makes sense to play him."

The clash between Stuttgart and Hertha is the second part of a Saturday double-feature in Duesseldorf, following the first quarter-final between Werder Bremen and Bayer Leverkusen.

The winners of that match will take on Schalke on Wednesday.

Bayern, last season's double-winners, and Schalke, who finished runners-up to the Bavarians in the League and Cup, both received byes through to the semi-finals.

The League Cup final will take place in Leipzig on August 2.

The Bundesliga season begins three days later when Bayern host Borussia Moenchengladbach.