Will Frankfurt make history against Barça?
Historic European Cup match in Frankfurt: Never before has Eintracht met FC Barcelona internationally. So the quarter-final duel in the Europa League is truly something special for the SGE and its supporters.
If you bet on the Catalans to advance, regardless of the first and second legs, you will usually find odds of 1.15 on average with the betting providers who offer this type of bet.
Of course, it is even more attractive – but also riskier – to bet on Eintracht advancing.
It will be interesting to see whether the SGE can create a good starting position for the second leg in a week’s time at the venerable Camp Nou in the first leg on Thursday evening (kick-off is at 9 p.m., the match will be shown on free TV on RTL).
Frankfurt – Statistics & current form
The anticipation at Eintracht for this duel is naturally huge, but it could have been even greater – if the dress rehearsal had not been messed up. Actually, the SGE wanted to tank up on self-confidence before the difficult home match against Barça. But a supposedly must-win against SpVgg Greuther Fürth, bottom of the table and designated for relegation, came to nothing on Saturday.
Eintracht again disappointed offensively against a defensively minded opponent and could not get beyond a sobering 0:0. It was the second goalless draw in a row in the league, although the previous matchday’s draw in Leipzig had been chalked up as a point gain.
Frankfurt struggle to score goals and win
But the offensive harmlessness is a worry. Because: In six of the last nine league games, Eintracht Frankfurt remained goalless. They have also only won three of their last nine games. The SGE has struggled at home in particular, with only four home wins in 14 games at Deutsche Bank Park – only two teams in the Bundesliga have won less often in their own stadium, and three teams have scored fewer points than the SGE (17 points).
Of course, these figures do not give us much hope ahead of the clash with Barça. It is therefore hardly surprising that the average odds for Frankfurt against Barcelona are 4.75 on a home win.
Predicted Frankfurt line-up:
Trapp – Tuta, Hasebe, Ndicka – Knauff, Jakic, Sow, Kostic, Lindström, Kamada – Borré
Last matches played by Frankfurt:
Bundesliga
04/02 2022 – Eintracht Frankfurt 0 – 0 Greuther Fürth
Friendly club matches
03/24 2022 – Eintracht Frankfurt 1 – 1 1. FC Nürnberg
Bundesliga
03/20 2022 – RB Leipzig 0 – 0 Eintracht Frankfurt
Europa League Final Stage
03/17 2022 – Eintracht Frankfurt 1 – 1 Real Betis
Bundesliga
03/13 2022 – Eintracht Frankfurt 2 – 1 VfL Bochum
Barcelona – Statistics & current form
So while Frankfurt’s form is very mixed, the exact opposite is true for FC Barcelona. The Catalans have been in impressive form for weeks, even months. Barça haven’t lost for 13 league games, most recently there were six La Liga victories in a row!
Almost even more impressive: four of the last six victories were achieved without conceding a goal. Barça have beaten the second and first teams in the table in Sevilla (1:0) and Real Madrid (4:0) in a row – without conceding a goal. By winning the top match against Sevilla FC at the weekend, Barça have thus secured 2nd place in Spain’s La Liga.
This impressive run naturally ensures that Barça will be clear favourites in the first leg in Frankfurt. And yet, Frankfurt vs Barcelona odds of 1.70 on the Catalans to win away from home are available – not necessarily the worst odds for a favourites tip.
Barça with impressive series – Galatasaray game as a warning example
It should also be noted, however, that a European Cup match is not a league match. In the previous round, in the round of 16, Barça were also the heavy favourites against Galatasaray Istanbul, but only managed to advance by a very narrow margin and did not go beyond a 0-0 draw in the first leg at the Camp Nou. In the second leg in Istanbul, the Blaugrana were even 1-0 down at one point, but then turned the game around and won 2-1 to book their ticket for the clash with Frankfurt. However, with a lot of effort, more effort than many would have thought beforehand.
Eintracht should study Galatasaray’s games against Barça well in advance – because “CimBom” showed that you can annoy the Catalans on the international stage if you put in a united team performance.
Predicted Barcelona line-up:
Ter Stegen – Araujo, Garcia, Piqué, Alba – Busquets, De Jong, Pedri – Dembélé, Aubameyang, Torres
Last matches played by Barcelona:
La Liga
04/03 2022 – FC Barcelona 1 – 0 FC Sevilla
03/20 2022 – Real Madrid 0 – 4 FC Barcelona
Europa League Final Stage
03/17 2022 – Galatasaray 1 – 2 FC Barcelona
La Liga
03/13 2022 – FC Barcelona 4 – 0 Osasuna Pamplona
Europa League Final Stage
03/10 2022 – FC Barcelona 0 – 0 Galatasaray
Frankfurt – Barcelona Tip
“For almost 62 years, we have not met a more prestigious and successful opponent in a competitive match,” said Axel Hellmann, Eintracht Frankfurt’s board spokesman, summing up the historic clash with FC Barcelona. It will be a special match for Eintracht – the Deutsche Bank Park will be completely sold out with a good 50,000 spectators. The question is: can this special ambience inspire Eintracht on Thursday evening?
The SGE will need the help of the 12th man from the stands, because Barça are in impressive form: six league wins in a row, 13 games without defeat show how strong Xavi’s eleven currently is.
The favourite tip is obvious, but the underdog role could suit Eintracht. Standing deep, being aggressive and then counter-attacking at lightning speed – the SGE has already done that well this season, for example in the 2:1 against FC Bayern München. Playing the game is not so much Frankfurt’s thing, but the role of the rebellious underdog is much more so. And: The SGE is still unbeaten in this Europa League season.
For this reason, we believe it will be an uncomfortable game for the favoured FC Barcelona – similar to the guest game in Istanbul. Therefore, we do not opt for a tip after 90 minutes, but for one after 45. Thus, our prediction for Frankfurt against Barcelona is: At half-time, it’s a draw.
