Eintracht Frankfurt vs Borussia Monchengladbach
German Bundesliga, KO: 17:30 May 16, 2020, Commerzbank-Arena
BORUSSIA MONCHENGLADBACH haven't won the title since their 1970s heyday but they head into the Bundesliga restart just six points behind leaders Bayern Munich.
Between 1970 and 1978, the Foals won the championship an incredible five times, as well as finishing runners-up twice, to underline their status as Germany's dominant force.
There has been little for the fans to cheer since then, with the club even slumping into the second tier in 2007 before bouncing straight back up. Yet new boss Marco Rose had them flying high this season before the campaign was halted due to the coronavirus.
Rose was a serial winner in his time as Red Bull Salzburg boss, winning back-to-back titles in Austria before his jump to the Bundesliga, and that has rubbed off on his squad.
They retain an outside chance of claiming this season's crown, especially with no one really sure how things will pan out with the rest of the campaign set to be played behind closed doors.
However, their first game back is a difficult one as Eintracht Frankfurt have plenty of quality players and are probably a better side than their mid-table position suggests.
After winning the German Cup in 2018, Eintracht blazed a trail to the Europa League semi-finals, only missing out on the showpiece after an unlucky shoot-out defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
I tipped the Germans to score in London that night and Luka Jovic's strike took it all the way to penalties after a 1-1 draw. Adi Hutter's men also reached the last 16 of this season's Europa League, although Eintracht crashed 3-0 at home to Swiss side Basel in the first leg just before football was placed on hold because of the pandemic.
How the bookies view it
This would have been a tough one for the bookies to call under normal circumstances and the added uncertainty after such a long lockdown is reflected in the odds.
Home advantage won't count as much with no fans in attendance and Frankfurt are as big as 33/16 with VBet who price Monchengladbach at 17/2. The draw is a decent option and that's a best 13/5 with Bet365.
Recent head to head
Monchengladbach edged a six-goal thriller at home earlier in the season, beating Frankfurt 4-2 in a thriller (below). They have won two of the last three meetings, with the other game a 1-1 draw in Frankfurt last season.
But Eintracht are unbeaten in their last three home games against Borussia, since suffering a 5-1 hiding back in October 2015. Two of those three games ended in a stalemate so that might be the value bet.
Players to watch
Denis Zakaria has netted in his last two games against Frankfurt but the Monchengladbach midfielder will sit this one out as he is still recovering from a knee injury.
Fellow midfielder Lars Stindl was in hot form before the shutdown, netting five goals in five games, so I'll gamble on him keeping up that form. He's 49/20 in the anytime scorer market with 888Sport and that looks good value. He's said to be a fitness doubt but remember there will be five subs so I can see him either starting or coming off the bench for a decent run-out.
Frankfurt's best hope for a goal is Portugal striker Andre Silva. The on-loan AC Milan star has eight for the season and netted three times in the four games before lockdown.
Silva wants to lay down roots in Frankfurt when his two-year loan ends and is a decent option for a goal here at 23/10 with 888Sport.
Anything else catch the eye?
Concentration might be a problem for defenders in the eerie stadium so I can see there being a few goals. There were six when these sides faced off earlier in the season and over 3.5 goals is 2/1 with BetVictor. Both teams to score in the first half is also 7/4 with Ladbrokes and that looks decent.
Two goals in that 4-2 thriller came via headers at set-pieces so it could pay to back another headed goal here. William Hill priced that at 11/8 after I requested the bet.
Predicted Line-ups
Frankfurt: Trapp – Toure, Abraham (c), Hinteregger, N'Dicka – Sow, Ilsanker – Chandler, Kamada, Kostic – Silva
Out: de Guzman (not included)
Doubtful: Durm (foot), Paciencia (thigh), Rode (knee)
Coach: Adi Hütter
Gladbach: Sommer (c) – Lainer, Ginter, Elvedi, Bensebaini – Herrmann, Strobl, Neuhaus – Embolo – Plea, Thuram
Out: Johnson (muscular), Zakaria (knee)
Doubtful: Kramer (match fitness), Stindl (match fitness)
Coach: Marco Rose
This German Bundesliga match between Eintracht Frankfurt and Borussia Monchengladbach will be played on May 16, 2020 and kick off at 17:30. Check below for our tipsters best Eintracht Frankfurt vs Borussia Monchengladbach prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
