Will Eintracht Frankfurt pull off the sensation?
Will Eintracht Frankfurt cause a sensation? The quarter-final duels in the Europa League with FC Barcelona are a historic event for Eintracht, who had never before met the big club from Catalonia in a competitive match.
In the first leg, Eintracht already managed to surprise with a 1-1 draw, holding the big favourites to a draw after a remarkable performance. The return match is now scheduled for Thursday evening at 9 pm at the Camp Nou – can the SGE stand up to Barça again? The Hessians are, of course, the clear underdogs in this clash, and Barça are the clear favourites at the Camp Nou, as the betting odds for Barcelona against Frankfurt make clear. A complete success for the guests from the Bundesliga would truly be a sensation – and it is precisely this victory that is needed for the semi-finals, whether after 90 minutes or after extra time or a penalty shoot-out.
Barcelona – statistics & current form
As impressive as the Eintracht from Frankfurt were in the first leg at Deutsche Bank Park – because they were fearless, aggressive and courageous – playing at Camp Nou will be a different story. Traditionally, Barça are very strong at home – but they are also tough to break down. The Catalans’ home record in La Liga this season shows that. Ten of the 14 home games were won, but there were also two draws and two defeats. No less than four teams in Spain have a better home record than Barça.
Meanwhile, Eintracht is the fifth best away team in the Bundesliga (6 wins, 4 draws, 4 draws), so FC Barcelona would do well not to take Frankfurt lightly. Nevertheless, the odds on Barcelona vs. Frankfurt speak for themselves – and for good reasons. Because the Catalans’ form is impressive.
Barcelona with impressive series
For 15 league games Barça have not lost, most recently there were seven La Liga wins en suite! No other team in the top leagues currently has a better streak. However, the truth is that Barça have not really covered themselves with glory in the last two games. In Frankfurt, the Spanish FCB had just as many problems as they did at the weekend against second-bottom UD Levante. Barça even trailed, scoring the winning goal in the 90th minute for a flattering 3:2.
At home in the Camp Nou, however, Barcelona have gone without conceding a goal in their last four inter-competition matches (1-0 vs. Sevilla, 4-0 vs. Osasuna, 0-0 vs. Galatasaray and 4-0 against Bilbao). So there are good reasons to bet on a win for the home side in Barcelona vs. Frankfurt.
Predicted Barcelona line-up:
Ter Stegen – Araujo, Garcia, Piqué, Alba – Busquets, De Jong, Pedri – Dembélé, Aubameyang, Torres
Last matches played by Barcelona:
La Liga
11/04/2022 – Levante2 – 3 FC Barcelona
Europa League Final Stage
08/04/2022 – Eintracht Frankfurt 1 – 1 FC Barcelona
La Liga
04/04/2022 – FC Barcelona 1 – 0 FC Sevilla
21/03/2022 – Real Madrid 0 – 4 FC Barcelona
Europa League Final Stage
18/03/2022 – Galatasaray 1 – 2 FC Barcelona
Frankfurt – Statistics & current form
Once again, the dress rehearsal went down the drain: Even before the first leg against Barça, there was only a disappointing 0-0 draw at home against bottom team Fürth in the Bundesliga, and now there was even a home defeat before the second leg, which is likely to depress the mood. Eintracht lost 2-1 against SC Freiburg at Deutsche Bank Park at the weekend.
But the first leg showed that this does not have to have an impact on the performance against Barcelona: The SGE put in a great performance, unnerved Barça with strong tackling, biting defensive play and quick switching play. Barcelona coach Xavi therefore called the 1-1 draw in Frankfurt a “good result” because his team had not put in a decent performance. Eintracht’s performance was all the better – and therefore an encouragement before the difficult trip to the Camp Nou.
Will Frankfurt pull off the sensation? High odds on the SGE advancing
Can Eintracht repeat this performance? They have to do it and even improve, after all, the Hessians absolutely have to score and win in the end if they want to advance
A risky but interesting bet that goes hand in hand with the double chance X2 offers odds of 3 on average. However, from our point of view, it would indeed be a sensation if Eintracht were to triumph against FC Barcelona at the Camp Nou.
Predicted Frankfurt line-up:
Trapp – Hinteregger, Hasebe, Ndicka – Knauff, Jakic, Rode, Kostic – Lindström, Kamada – Borré
Last matches played by Frankfurt:
Bundesliga
10/04/2022 – Eintracht Frankfurt 1 – 2 SC Freiburg
Europa League Final Stage
08/04/2022 – Eintracht Frankfurt 1 – 1 FC Barcelona
Bundesliga
02/04/2022 – Eintracht Frankfurt 0 – 0 Greuther Fürth
Friendly club matches
24/03/2022 – Eintracht Frankfurt 1 – 1 1. FC Nürnberg
Bundesliga
20/03/2022 – RB Leipzig 0 – 0 Eintracht Frankfurt
Barcelona – Frankfurt Direct comparison / H2H-Balance
In the only competitive match in the club history of both clubs so far, there was the aforementioned 1-1 draw in the first leg.
For Barcelona, it is their 66th match on the international stage against a German team, and their record so far is: 34 wins for Barça, 14 draws and 17 defeats. Frankfurt have only played nine times against teams from Spain, but surprisingly have a positive record: 5 wins, 3 draws and only one defeat so far.
Barcelona – Frankfurt tip
Will the favourites make everything clear in the second leg or will Eintracht achieve a historic success? They showed impressively in the first leg that they can make life difficult for Barcelona – but the Deutsche Bank Park is not the Camp Nou. We can assume that Barça will be much more dominant and confident – and that Frankfurt will have far less of that, even though 25,000 Eintracht fans are reportedly expected to follow their team to Barcelona.
How impressed are the Hessians with the setting at Camp Nou? We think: At least impressed enough that it won’t be enough to advance in the end. Because we expect a much improved FC Barcelona compared to the shaky first leg. At home, Barça should make everything clear after a performance that should match their current form. Therefore, our prediction for Barcelona against Frankfurt is: Barça win with handicap -1.
