Europa League Group H leaders collide in Germany as Eintracht Frankfurt host Lazio on Thursday night. Frankfurt, the reigning German Cup champions, came back from a goal down to Marseille to win 2-1 on matchday 1.
New manager Adi Hutter has had a rough start with Frankfurt, but there is belief he has weathered the worst of things. Frankfurt saw 13 players leave during the summer. Five of those members were first-team players and it has left a major hole in Hutter’s squad.
Lazio, on the other hand, had an easier time on matchday 1 beating Apollon Limassol, 2-1. The scoreline flattered Apollon as Lazio dominated 87 minutes of the game before the Cypriot club got on the board. Lazio suffered their first loss in six matches in all competitions at the weekend. Manager Simone Inzaghi’s team suffered a 3-1 setback to city rivals Roma. Ciro Immobile is once again Lazio’s talisman up front. The Italian striker has scored four times in Serie A and picked up a goal in Lazio’s win over Apollon.
Frankfurt go into the fixture as the slight favourite, according to major sportsbooks. However, there is very little separating these teams and the quality is nearly even on both sides. The Germans unexpectedly won away in Marseille and with a win at the weekend over Hannover, 4-1, they could be finally finding form under Hutter. The victory over Hannover ended a four-match winless streak that saw Frankfurt lose three times.
Although Lazio’s form has been better domestically, Frankfurt will be up for the fixture and so will their home supporters. Lazio were quarterfinalists in the Europa League last season, so Inzaghi has experience guiding the team in the competition.
Hutter will be without his first-choice left-back Jetro Williams. The Dutch defender was sent off against Marseille and will serve a suspension. Meanwhile, Timmy Chandler and Carlos Salcedo will miss the match due to injury. Interestingly, attacking midfielder Marco Fabian was left out of the team’s European squad.
The Mexican international will most likely be sold in January and it is a move preventing him from being cup-tied. Hutter will rely on his one-two strike partner punch of Sebastien Haller and Ante Rebic. The latter starred for Croatia at the World Cup and Frankfurt’s ability to keep the forward was a real coup. Winger Filip Kostic has bedded-in well with the Eagles since arriving from Hamburg SV and he has struck up a dangerous partnership with Rebic.
Lazio have won one time on Germany soil in European competition. They have tallied six wins in 12 games overall against teams from the Bundesliga, but away from Rome their record is poor. Making Lazio’s chances of a win even more difficult is Frankfurt’s recent record at home in European matches. The Eagles have won 11 of 14 European fixtures at home.
Thursday night’s match will be a cagey affair with two evenly matched teams. Frankfurt and Lazio won’t be able to find a goal to separate themselves and the tie will finish in a score draw.