Our next opponents: The ace on the wing

Position

The management at Eintracht Frankfurt had their hands full in the summer: Coach Adi Hütter, who had successfully led the team for three years, departed to join Borussia Mönchengladbach and sporting director Fredi Bobic left Frankfurt at the end of last season to move into the management at league rivals Hertha Berlin. There were teething problems at the Eagles under the new management. Head coach Oliver Glasner needed time and patience to impose his philosophy on the team. Eintracht did not win any of their first six games in the Bundesliga (five draws, one defeat).

At the same time, the Black and Whites were outstanding in the Europa League – Eintracht went through to the Round of 16 on Thursday as group winners – and matchday seven in the league brought the first win. Against the record champions Bayern Munich of all teams, the players from the Main secured a first Bundesliga victory. Then the team currently lying twelfth in the table suffered defeats against Hertha Berlin (1-2) and VfL Bochum (0-2) but the side under Captain Makoto Hasebe and Co. have now registered three wins in four games (one draw). The last matchday brought a 3-2 defeat away to TSG Hoffenheim and the Glasner team secured a point in a 1-1 draw at Fenerbahce in the Europa League.

Personnel

"We have to be well organised against Leverkusen. We’ll have to work hard and be disciplined as Bayer have lots of quality in attack," said Glasner ahead of the fixture. It is highly likely the Austrian will again have to manage without Jesper Lindström on Sunday. The 21-year-old is currently struggling with a thigh problem. "We'll have to wait and see if he’ll be fit for Sunday. But it could be tight," said the coach who again was able to call on Christopher Lenz in Istanbul. The left-back did not play but he did return to the squad after a fascia injury and is ready to face the Werkself.

Glasner has started with the same formation in the last three league matches. The back three proved to be effective. But there could be a tactical change against the Werkself. The Eintracht coach is clearly considering a back four. The last time the team in Hessen played that way in the Bundesliga was on matchday six in a 1-1 draw against FC Köln. There is no "final decision" but Glasner is keeping this option open to defend "the flanks against Leverkusen." Martin Hinteregger, who has recently only been on the bench due to slight knocks, is in the thoughts of the coach and Glasner believes he could play a "very important role" in central defence. Hinteregger and Lenz are definitely candidates for the starting line-up.

Performers

Filip Kostic is amongst the best crossers of the ball in the Bundesliga. That is reflected in the stats: The Serbian winger has crossed 81 times in open play this season – the highest number in the league. The second highest number of crosses were provided by Hoffenheim's David Raum (64). Kostic is also the best provider at the moment in Germany's top flight. The 29-year-old has currently provided six assists. Only Bayern Munich's Thomas Müller (11 assists), Bayer 04 youngster Florian Wirtz (8) and TSG striker Andrey Kramaric have done better. In addition, Eintracht are second in the league in terms of ground covered behind Arminia Bielefeld (approximately 119.8 kilometres per game). The Eagles have clocked up an average of 118.5 kilometres the game.

Problems

Eintracht Frankfurt appeared to be scoring for fun last season and they had the third most prolific attack in the league with 69 goals scored. Goalscoring is currently no longer quite as easy Frankfurt. The Glasner team have only found the back of the net 18 times in 14 games, which puts them in eleventh place in that category in the Bundesliga. That is obviously connected to departure of star striker André Silva. The Portuguese forward, who joined RB Leipzig in the summer, scored 28 goals in the Bundesliga (eight assists) in 2020/21. Rafael Borré, signed as Silva’s successor in the summer, has scored three goals and provided one assist to date.

Prediction

Eintracht had an incredibly difficult start to the Bundesliga season but have been able to recover in the meantime. The win against Bayern Munich appeared to be the spark for further promising performances but the Eagles still lack consistency. Frankfurt have one of the best providers of recent years in their ranks in Kostic and the Serbian winger is again in great form this season. The Black and Whites have progressed to the Round of 16 in the Europa League as clear winners of their group. The Glasner team now face the challenge of reproducing those performances on the domestic stage.