The Eintracht Frankfurt fixture list has recently run into trouble. The Europa League second leg match in Salzburg was postponed for a day due to a storm. Due to the limited time for recovery, the Bundesliga match against Werder Bremen on Sunday night had to be rearranged – and then Eintracht played Werder in the DFB Cup on Wednesday. Frankfurt secured a deserved 2-0 win and are now in the semi-final draw along with Bayer 04, FC Bayern and FC Saarbrücken. With the away game at the BayArena – at least for now – the 'normal' pattern of fixtures has returned. The season so far has proved to be quite stressful for the Frankfurt club. No other professional team in Germany has played as many games and the match against the Werkself will be the 42nd match this term. Like Bayer 04, Eintracht Frankfurt are still competing on three fronts: They are one win away from the DFB Cup final in Berlin, Eintracht easily beat Salzburg in the Europa League and now face FC Basel in the Round of 16. In the Bundesliga, the team coached by Adi Hütter are twelfth in the table ahead of the clash against Bayer 04 – they have played one game less and are two points behind Union Berlin in tenth place.
Filip Kostic had a brilliant game for Eintacht when the two sides met earlier in the season in October and Bayer 04 will definitely need to keep an eye out for him. That was not the only fine performance from the Serb this term. The left-footer will miss the DFB Cup semi-final after being sent off against Werder Bremen but he should be a key element in the Frankfurt attack at the BayArena. Kostic is a player who can make the difference – with his pace, dynamism and pin-point crosses. Kostic has already provided nine assists in the Bundesliga and he set up the second goal in the DFB Cup tie with an unstoppable run and cross down the left wing .
The goalscorer: Daichi Kamada. The Japan international is one of the high flyers for Eintracht over the past few months. Following a loan spell in Belgium, he was given an outside chance of a regular slot in the starting eleven but his quality stood out and he has livened up the Eintracht attack – and now he has also found the back of the net. He not only scored against Werder Bremen – the attacking midfielder bagged a hat-trick in the first leg match against Salzburg. In the Europa League group game against Arenal, Kamada was the match winner at the Emirates Stadium. The technically-gifted midfielder has yet to score in the Bundesliga.
The image of the 'moody diva from the river Main' certainly applies this season. The biggest constant of recent months has been inconsistency. In February, a 5-0 thrashing of Augsburg was followed by a 4-0 defeat at Borussia Dortmund, the convincing 4-1 victory over RB Salzburg by a deserved defeat at home to Union Berlin. That trend has continued throughout the season: Frankfurt have experienced some great moments this term such as the 5-1 win against FC Bayern and two victories against RB Leipzig in quick succession. However, the team from Hesse have often produced disappointing displays as in the match in Dortmund and the 2-1 defeat at Paderborn just before Christmas. How will Eintracht Frankfurt perfrorm at the BayArena on Saturday?
This club has often impressed over the course of recent seasons: Almost relegated in 2016, Eintracht won the DFB Cup in 2018 and were in the Europa League semi-finals last year where they just missed out on going through to the final – they lost 4-3 on penalties to Chelsea. Now, internationally renowned players like André Silva and Bas Dost are now at the club. After selling Luka Jovic, Ante Rebic and Sebastien Haller last year, Eintracht have the financial basis to flourish in the Bundesliga over the next few years.
With a seven-point deficit to seventh place in the Bundesliga, it will be difficult for Eintracht to qualify for Europe but not impossible – above all because this team can compete with any other team in the league on a good day. For that reason, Frankfurt remain an incredibly dangerous cup team and can go a long way in the Europa League and the DFB Cup.
Bayer 04 have fond memories of their encounters with Heidenheim, including a resounding 6-0 win in the reverse fixture. Kasper Hjulmand’s side would very much like to produce a similarly clinical display as they now head to the Voith-Arena for Matchday 27 on Saturday (15:30 CET). But they come up against a team fighting for their Bundesliga lives at the bottom of the table, 10 points adrift of safety with time running out. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the game in our matchday news.
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The Bayer 04 Women welcome FC Carl Zeiss Jena to the Ulrich Haberland Stadium on Sunday night in a white retro look - and in a unique Bayer 04 ‘50 Years of Fan Clubs’ special edition jersey. In sporting terms, head coach Roberto Pätzold's team will face the Bundesliga's bottom team at 18:30 CET looking to keep their chances of third place in the table alive with six games left to play.
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Bayer 04 return to Bundesliga action this weekend. Following their elimination in the Round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League, the Werkself are away to FC Heidenheim 1846 on Saturday, 21 March (kick-off: 15:30 CET) on Bundesliga matchday 27. Ahead of the clash in the eastern Swabian Alps, head coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about the importance of the fixture and the chances of qualifying for the Champions League next term.
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A quick look at the table shows the situation at FC Heidenheim is serious. The Bundesliga bottom club are already ten points behind the play-off spot with their backs to the wall in sporting terms. With eight games left to play, avoiding relegation appears to be a mission impossible. Nevertheless, they are far from flying the white flag at the Schlossberg ahead of the clash with the Werkself this Saturday, 21 March (kick-off: 15:30 CET). The lowdown on our next opponents.
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Bayer 04 Leverkusen will have to manage without the two strikers in the immediate future. Caroline Kehrer suffered a torn ligament in her right knee and Amy Wrigge tore her cruciate ligament.
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