The 2018/19 UEFA Europa League resumes this week and on Thursday night the first leg of the tie between Eintracht Frankfurt and Inter Milan will take place at the Commerzbank Arena in Germany.
We have reached the round of 16 stage of the competition and Eintracht Frankfurt are hoping to stage a repeat of their successful 1979/80 season when they went on to lift the UEFA Cup. Inter Milan also have history in this tournament and have lifted the trophy three times, all three of which happened in the 1990’s.
Eintracht Frankfurt continued their good form on the weekend as they defeated Hoffenheim 3-2 at home in the Bundesliga. That result keeps them in contention for a top four finish this season and maintained their unbeaten record which stretches back to nine games in all competitions.
They have been strong at home this season, losing only two of their last fifteen matches in all competitions.
Trends show Eintracht Frankfurt are undefeated in the UEFA Europa League this season and have won seven and drawn one of their eight games, which is a very good record. They have played four matches at home, winning all of them including a 4-1 win over Lazio, 4-0 victory over Marseille and 4-1 win against Shakhtar Donetsk.
Eintracht Frankfurt have scored 14 goals across their four home Europa League home games, conceding just 2 in the process.
Inter Milan suffered a shock 2-1 loss at Cagliari in Serie A on the weekend and that defeat means they are 4th in the league, occupying the final Champions League qualifying place for next season.
It was the first defeat Inter Milan have suffered in their last six games, with four wins and one draw making up their results in all competitions. Having started the season in the Champions League, Inter Milan found themselves in a tough group with Barcelona, Tottenham Hotspur and PSV Eindhoven.
They finished level on points with Spurs but lost out because of their head-to-head away goals record.
That saw Inter move to the Europa League and in the round of 32 they had little trouble defeating Rapid Vienna. Having won the away leg 1-0, Inter Milan completed the job by defeating the Austrian’s 4-0 at the San Siro.
Looking ahead to the team news and Eintracht Frankfurt have doubts over the fitness of Ante Rebic who was forced off with an injury on the weekend. Lucas Torró will miss out due to injury and Gelson Fernandes is also an injury concern.
Inter Milan will travel to Germany without the injured duo of Keita and Sime Vrsaljko. Top scorer, Mauro Icardi is not under consideration for selection and will be a big miss for the away team.
This could be one of the best games of the night in the Europa League and will be a real test for both teams. We could see goals at both ends of the pitch and it would not be a surprise to see the match end level, setting up an exciting second leg.