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.
Bayern Munich come to the BayArena this Saturday with an 11-point lead in the Bundesliga as they look to take a step closer to the title. As imperious as they may seem, a weakness has emerged of late that the Werkself proved they can exploit in Wednesday’s 1-1 draw with Arsenal in the Champions League. Leverkusen are also looking to make it four Bundesliga home games unbeaten against the Bavarians. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the 15:30 CET kick-off in our matchday news.
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Another home game, another top opponent - another marker? Three days after their convincing performance in the 1-1 draw with Arsenal in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg, Bayer 04 continue their Bundesliga campaign with an equally high-calibre fixture. Matchday 26 sees league leaders Bayern Munich visit the sold-out BayArena. Ahead of the clash, head coach Kasper Hjulmand spoke about a comparison between Arsenal and the Bavarians, Bayern's high-scoring performance in Europe's premier club competition and a return to the squad for one Werkself player.
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High spirits and previously untold stories: Around 100 Bayer 04 fans packed the Schwadbud fan pub in the east stand of the BayArena on Thursday evening to be there in person for the first instalment of the new series of events entitled “Rudi lädt ein” (Rudi invites you). They listened intently as long-serving Werkself players Gonzalo Castro and Stefan Kießling chatted with record appearance-maker Rüdiger Vollborn and presenter and stadium announcer Tobias Ufer about their many years together at the club, shared amusing anecdotes and revealed dressing room secrets. Anyone who missed the premiere can already look forward to the second instalment – on 12 May, Rudi will be testing the expert knowledge of Bayer 04 fans during a quiz night.
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The Bundesliga home game against VfL Wolfsburg in the first half of the season was one of those classic ‘days to forget’ for Bayer 04 Women. It started with goalkeeper Charlotte Voll being shown a red card in the first minute of the game, and following a further sending-off, coach Roberto Pätzold's 9-women side ended up losing 5-1 to last season's runners-up. At 18.30 CET on Sunday, they'll have the chance to exact revenge at the AOK Stadium - and pick up valuable points in the race for third place.
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They're well on their way to becoming German champions for the 35th time and once again proved their incredible class in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday. This Saturday, 14 March (kick-off: 15.30 CET), Bayern Munich will be the visitors to the BayArena. It'll be a meeting of the two Bundesliga teams with the most dominant styles of play. A look at our opponents shows the visitors from the Bavarian capital have many strengths - but are also vulnerable.
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