As the UEFA Europa League Last-16 concludes on Thursday, eight matches kick off around the continent, one of which takes place at Deutsche Bank Park, where Frankfurt will look to fend off a visiting Ajax team having won the first leg by two goals to one.
Despite going into the first leg of this tie off the back of consecutive wins, the men from Johan Cruyff Arena, failed to get the job done in front of a home crowd last week, despite taking an early lead through powerful forward Brian Brobbey.
In contrast, the Eagles soared on their travels for the road for the first time in a while, putting two recent defeats behind them, coming from a goal down to return home with the aggregate lead, thanks largely to a second-half winner from unlikely goal source Ellyes Skhiri, who scored his first competitive goal in well over a year.
Now back in front of a home crowd, Dino Toppmöller’s men will surely fancy themselves to make it through, but we shouldn’t assume that this is done and dusted. After all, the visitors have won each of their last four away games, recently beating Belgium’s Union SG away from home in this competition. A similar effort on Thursday and they could easily be the ones to make the last eight.
How the bookies view it: Frankfurt fancied to complete the job
In the betting, the hosts are fancied to complete the job, priced at 10/11 to win this game in 90 minutes. An Ajax win in regulation time is currently available at 12/5 with BoyleSports, while the draw can be supported at 13/5.
Recent head-to-head: Away-day turnaround
As touched on above, Thursday’s hosts beat Ajax in the Dutch capital of Amsterdam last week, coming from a goal down to secure a 1-2 victory. That match was the first ever competitive meeting between the two teams.
Players to watch: Frankfurt's forwards the main danger
Hugo Ekitike didn’t score in the first leg, but the dynamic French forward is clearly Frankfurt's most dangerous player, so don’t be surprised if he has a big say on Thursday evening. In all competitions this season, Ekitike has scored 18 goals, scoring an impressive average of 0.74 goals per 90 minutes. He’s 11/8 to notch here.
Ekitike is not the only Hugo to have caused opponents problems in the Europa League this season. The young Swedish midfielder, who is very forward thinking, has scored four goals in this competition, including against Ajax last week, while he’s averaging a promising 0.48 goals per 90 minutes in the UEL.
Predicted lineups
For the hosts, Arthur Theate, who featured from the start a week ago, is likely to miss out as a result of sustaining a fresh muscle injury. Robin Koch, who has missed the last couple of matches through illness remains a doubt.
For Ajax, there will be no Jordan Henderson, who is suspended, while Brian Bobbey, who scored last week, is also a doubt. There are also concerns over the fitness of Kenneth Taylor. Wout Weghorst remains sidelined. It’s also worrying for the visitors that first-choice keeper Pasveer is out.
Frankfurt: Trapp, Tuta, Collins, Kristensen, Knauff, Larsson, Skhiri, Gotze, Ekitike, Chaibi.
Ajax: Gorter, Hato, Baas, Sutalo, Gaaei, Mokio, Fitz-Jim, van de Boomen, Godts, Berghuis, Traore.
Anything else catch the eye?
Given that the visitors have some key absentees, including their captain and leader Jordan Henderson, who brings much-needed experience to a young midfield, the hosts could easily be shorter than 10/11 and are thus worth betting on to finish this off with another win inside 90 minutes.
This UEFA Europa League match between Eintracht Frankfurt and Ajax will be played on and kick off at 17:45. Check below for our tipsters best Eintracht Frankfurt vs Ajax prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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