position
Supporters of Eintracht Frankfurt have spent the last 18 months as if intoxicated at times: First, the sensational DFB Cup final win against FC Bayern, then the fairy tale season in the Europa League that only just failed to produce a place in the final. There is still a huge amount of euphoria in and around the club plus outstanding support from the fans and the calm hand of coach Adi Hütter. It was foreseeable that everything will not run as smoothly as in large parts of last season given the downturn that Frankfurt had to cope with. Nevertheless, the team from Hessen can be satisfied with the season so far. Wins against Tallinn, Vaduz and Strasbourg secured qualification for Frankfurt in the Europa League and thereby the chance of more magic nights like last season. A clear defeat against Arsenal in the opening match was followed by an important away win at the Portuguese side Vitoria Guimaraes that puts the knockout stages back within reach. Eintracht are three points behind the Werkself in ninth place in the Bundesliga. At the Commerzbank Arena, where Bayer 04 are playing on Friday, Hütter’s team are, as yet, unbeaten in the league and the home form table shows only one team better than the Frankfurt side – and they are from Leverkusen.
PersonNEl
The 'Herd of buffalo' has moved on. The powerful strike trio comprised of Luka Jovic, Sebastien Haller and Ante Rebic, who played a significant role in the recent success at Frankfurt, are now plying their trade in Madrid, London and Milan. A loss of quality? Not necessarily. Sporting director Fredi Bobic has attracted high quality replacements: From Sporting Lisbon came Bas Dost, who has an impressive record of scoring in his career to date – including from his time in the Bundesliga at VfL Wolfsburg. In exchange for Rebic, the Portuguese André Silva has arrived in Frankfurt and he was once Player of the Year in his home country in spite of some stiff competition. Both have already shown that Eintracht are capable of scoring even without the 'Herd of buffalo': Silva and Dost have scored three and two respectively in four games. And Silva's fellow countryman Goncalo Paciencia, who is good in the air, has flourished since the departure of Jovic, Haller and Rebic and he has already scored six goals. It's definitely the case that Eintracht are stronger than last season in central midfield – also thanks to Dominik Kohr. The enforcer, brought through the ranks at Leverkusen, moved from the Werkself to Frankfurt in the summer and immediately established his position as a first choice. Alongside him, two other new signings have impressed so far in Moussa Sow (from Bern) and Daichi Kamada (returned after a loan spell at St. Truiden).
problemS
The first half of the season is already over one of last term's key performers: Goalkeeper Kevin Trapp picked up a serious shoulder injury in the final stages of the away game at Union Berlin and has had to undergo an operation. The Germany keeper (three caps) will not play again in 2019. It remains to be seen if the reserve keeper Frederick Rönnow, who will be in goal against the Werkself, will be equally impressive between the sticks. But one thing is clear: Trapp will be missed as an important personality and leader. In addition, the completely reformed attack, with all its quality, will have to to develop that innate understanding that was a feature of the Jovic/Haller/Rebic trio last season.
PotenTial
The fact that Eintracht Frankfurt are able to attract top international players like Silva or Dost would have been almost unthinkable a year or so ago. The club has moved in the right direction incredibly quickly under Bobic. The Hessen club has long had the facilities, structure and fans befitting a big team. Sporting director Bobic has recognised an area requiring improvement – no player who has appeared in the Bundesliga this season comes from the in-house youth teams – and a big name has recently been brought in to deal with that: Andreas Möller, 1990 World Cup winner, will be the head of the Frankfurt Academy set-up. That brings things full circle: The Frankfurt-born Möller progressed through the Eintracht youth system himself.
Prediction
It could definitely take a fair while until Silva, Dost and Paciencia are in tune with each other like Rebic, Haller and Jovic. Frankfurt are definitely not lacking a goal threat and they are now much more effective in central midfield. Of course, it's questionable whether they could have a miraculous season like the last one where everything went right at times. But Eintracht are definitely a prospect for the top third of the table – and if they get through the group stage then anything is possible again in the Europa League with the fans behind them.
