Eintracht Frankfurt host Union Berlin in Sunday’s Bundesliga clash, with the race for Champions League qualification intensifying. The hosts are aiming to strengthen their hold on third place and should secure a crucial win against the out-of-form visitors.
Frankfurt head into this clash after a hard-fought 2-1 UEFA Europa League first-leg away victory over Ajax. That was a solid return to winning ways for Dino Toppmoller’s men, who had lost their last two Bundesliga matches, losing 4-0 to Bayern Munich before suffering a 4-1 home defeat to Bayer Leverkusen.
Beyond those two results, Eintracht Frankfurt’s overall domestic form has been decent, especially at home where they have claimed three wins and a draw from their last four matches. While the defeats to the top two highlighted a vulnerable backline, they are however solid going forward, with a 7-1 victory over Bochum and a 4-1 triumph over Freiburg among their home results.
Union Berlin suffered a 1-0 defeat to Holstein Kiel in their previous Bundesliga fixture. That was the third straight defeat for the visitors, who have slipped down the table and are now just six points above the bottom three.
Union are worse on their travels and have lost seven of their last eight Bundesliga away matches. Some of their biggest defeats have come on the road, Steffen Baumgart’s men were thrashed 6-0 by Borussia Dortmund in their previous away fixture.
How the bookies view it: Frankfurt on top
The bookies have installed Eintracht Frankfurt as overwhelming favourites in this fixture with BoyleSports offering odds of 4/6 for the win. An unlikely victory for Union Berlin is valued at 3/1 while a draw is set at 14/5.
Head to head: Frankfurt in control
Eintracht Frankfurt have a 10-3 advantage with six draws from 19 previous matches against Union Berlin. The reverse fixture ended in a 1-1 draw but Frankfurt have won four of the last five meetings at home.
Players to watch: Dependable Ekitike
Hugo Ekitike is Eintracht Frankfurt’s second top scorer in the league with 13 Bundesliga goals. The striker has six goals in the last eight Bundesliga matches and is priced at 11/10 by BoyleSports to find the net on Sunday.
Benedict Hollerbach is the leading scorer for Union Berlin with six goals and will be the one to watch on Sunday. The striker has scored in the last two away matches and having also scored in the reverse fixture, can be considered in the anytime goalscorer market at 10/3 with BoyleSports.
Probable line-ups
Robin Koch, Timothy Chandler, Krisztian Lisztes and Aurele Amenda all remain sidelined for Eintracht Frankfurt while Ellyes Skhiri is suspended. However, Ekitike, Mario Gotze and Jean-Matteo Bahoya are all expected to retain their places in the line-up.
For Union Berlin, Oluwaseun Ogbemudia, Robert Skov and Aljoscha Kemlein are all unavailable due to injuries. However, the trio of Hollerbach, Marin Ljubicic and Woo-Yeong Jeong should start in attack.
Eintracht Frankfurt: Trapp, Kristensen, Collins, Tuta, Theate, Gotze, Chaibi, Larsson, Knauff, Bahoya, Ekitike
Union Berlin: Ronnow, Doekhi, Querfeld, Leite, Juranovic, Khedira, Tousart, Rothe, Hollerbach, Ljubicic, Jeong
Anything else catches the eye?
Both teams have scored in five of the last six of Frankfurt’s last eight matches and given the similar outcome in the reverse fixture, a repeat can be considered at 8/13 with BoyleSports. Their last three matches have produced over 3.5 goals which is pegged at 13/8 with BoyleSports, who are also offering odds of 8/13 for over 2.5 goals.
Frankfurt have scored in both halves in three of their last five Bundesliga home matches and a similar pattern is priced at 4/6.
This German Bundesliga match between Eintracht Frankfurt and Union Berlin will be played on and kick off at 14:30. Check below for our tipsters best Eintracht Frankfurt vs Union Berlin prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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