Eintracht Frankfurt know defeat against hosts Werder Bremen on Friday at Weserstadion in the Bundesliga would significantly damage their hopes of securing Champions League football.
Frankfurt are seventh with 26 points but are six points behind third-placed RB Leipzig having played a game more, while the Green-Whites are 13th with 17 points following their 3-0 loss against Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday.
Bremen can have few complaints with their defeat against Dortmund considering they only mustered three shots inside the box, with the first two occurring in the opening 18 minutes and their third coming four minutes from time.
The Green-Whites are just five points above 16th-placed Mainz 05, who occupy the division's relegation playoff spot, but they face five of the top eight in their next six league fixtures.
Head coach Horst Steffen's side will hope their goal drought ends soon given they have failed to net in their last three games, and they have conceded at least three goals in three of their past four matches.
Failure to triumph on Friday would extend Werder Bremen's winless streak to seven fixtures, and a loss would be their fourth in seven.
The hosts were beaten 4-0 by Stuttgart on December 14 in their most recent home clash, but they had won three and drawn one of their prior four matches at Weserstadion.
© Imago / Jan Huebner
Eintracht Frankfurt suffered a 3-2 defeat against Stuttgart on Tuesday despite initially taking a fifth-minute lead, and they only produced one big chance compared to their opponents' seven.
Dino Toppmoller's side have now conceded 36 goals in the top flight, making them the worst defensive team in the Bundesliga other than last-placed Heidenheim (38).
Frankfurt have scored more goals in their last two (five) than they did in their previous six matches (four), but they only won once in that period, with the club suffering four defeats in that time.
The visitors would love a repeat of their first league clash of 2025-26 against Werder Bremen considering they emerged as 4-1 victors in August, their first win in four against their hosts.
Frankfurt are winless in their past four outings on the road - three losses and one stalemate - and they only emerged victorious once in their last nine matches away from home.
Werder Bremen Bundesliga form:
Eintracht Frankfurt Bundesliga form:
DLWDLL
Eintracht Frankfurt form (all competitions):
LLWDDL
© Imago
Werder Bremen defenders Maximilian Wober and Niklas Stark have been ruled out of Friday's match, with Wober scheduled to return in late January and Stark set for a comeback in early February.
Karim Coulibaly, Marco Friedl and Amos Pieper could start in central defence, while midfield stalwarts Jens Stage and Senne Lynen can be pencilled into the XI.
Frankfurt midfielder Hugo Larsson is a slight doubt due to illness, but if he can overcome his issues, then he is likely to play alongside Oscar Hojlund.
The continued absence of strikers Michy Batshuayi and Jonathan Burkardt has been problematic in recent weeks, and Ansgar Knauff may have to fill in up front.
Robin Koch is set to start in the middle of a back three ahead of shot-stopper Kaua Santos on Friday.
Werder Bremen possible starting lineup:
Backhaus; Coulibaly, Friedl, Pieper; Sugawara, Stage, Lynen, Schmidt; Schmid, Njinmah, Grull
Eintracht Frankfurt possible starting lineup:
Kaua; Collins, Koch, Theate; Kristensen, Hojlund, Larsson, Brown; Uzun, Doan; Knauff
It is difficult to predict a winner on Friday considering both teams have failed to impress in recent weeks.
Werder Bremen have not often been beaten at home, so it would come as no surprise if they earned at least a point against Eintracht Frankfurt.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Source link
Please share by clicking this button!
Visit our site and see all other available articles!