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.
Freiburg’s defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt last weekend left them two places but a whole 10 points behind Bayer 04. Their results in general may be mixed, but Julian Schuster’s side are a force to be reckoned with at home, where they have earned 24 of their 33 points. Leverkusen may choose to look for the aerial route if they’re to get the better of their hosts, who have conceded more headed goals than any other team. Here’s all you need to know ahead of Saturday afternoon’s game in our matchday news.
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A boost for the second Bundesliga away game in a row: The Werkself take on SC Freiburg just three days after the convincing 1-0 win at Hamburger SV. Ahead of the game on Saturday, 7 March (kick-off: 15:30 CET), head coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about the lessons learned from the rearranged fixture at HSV, a trio on yellow cards and young players like Christian Kofane and Montrell Culbreath.
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SC Freiburg suffered their eighth away defeat of the season in Frankfurt last weekend. But at home, at the Europa Park Stadion, coach Julian Schuster's team are clocking up one win after the next. SCF are unbeaten in the last 16 matches at home. On Saturday, 7 March (kick-off: 15:30 CET), they will be looking to keep the run going in the clash with the Werkself. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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For the third time in a row, the Leverkusen eSports players have made it through to the final round of the VBL Club Championship. From 7 to 8 March, they will compete for the German Club Championship at XPERION in Hamburg. At the start of the final round, they face Hamburger SV in the Round of 16. The match starts at 19:30 CET on Saturday, 7 March and will be broadcast live on the VBL Twitch channel. The eSports preview.
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