Eintracht Frankfurt vs Bayer Leverkusen preview: Visitors must win to keep title hopes alive | OneFootball

Eintracht Frankfurt

Frankfurt are in need of a response as they look to bounce back from last weekend’s 2-0 defeat to Bayern München, as they welcome Bayer Leverkusen to Deutsche Bank Park on Saturday.

Dino Toppmöller’s men held firm against Bayern until first-half stoppage time but struggled to contain the champions after the break, conceding six big chances while failing to create any of their own.

The Eagles have now gone six matches without a clean sheet, shipping 11 goals in that time, and they face another stern test against a Leverkusen side desperate to keep their faint title hopes alive.

Toppmöller's side do however, boast a phenomenal home record, with the club winning nine and drawing two of their last 12 outings on home soil.

Team News

Frankfurt will have to reshuffle their defence as Tuta serves a suspension, while Robin Koch is sidelined through injury.

Rasmus Kristensen, Nnamdi Collins and Arthur Theate are expected to form a back three, flanked by wing-backs Ansgar Knauff and Nathaniel Brown, with Junior Dina Ebimbe unavailable.

Striker Igor Matanovic is nearing a return following his layoff, but Saturday’s clash may come too soon. As a result, Hugo Ekitiké is likely to lead the line, supported by Mario Götze and Can Uzun.

Bayer Leverkusen

Xabi Alonso’s side remain unbeaten in 21 Bundesliga matches, but with three draws in their last five league outings, they can ill afford another slip-up if they are to chase down Bayern.

Leverkusen were dominant in last weekend’s 4-0 win over Holstein Kiel, limiting their opponents to just one shot inside the box while creating 14 chances of their own, accumulating an xG of 1.69.

Die Werkself have now kept three consecutive clean sheets, as many as they had managed in their previous 10 games combined.

However, Alonso will be aware that his side’s title hopes are slim, given Bayern’s favourable run-in, with seven of their remaining 11 fixtures coming against bottom-half opposition.

Even so, Leverkusen will be confident of picking up three points, having beaten Frankfurt 2-1 in the reverse fixture on 19 October, their fourth consecutive victory over the Eagles.

Team News

Leverkusen will be without Piero Hincapié, who serves a suspension after picking up a yellow card last time out, while Jeanuel Belocian is ruled out for the rest of the season with a cruciate ligament injury.

Mario Hermoso is likely to slot into the back three alongside Edmond Tapsoba and Jonathan Tah.

In attack, Amine Adli, Florian Wirtz and Victor Boniface are expected to start, though Martin Terrier and Nathan Tella remain unavailable.

Leverkusen also boast an exceptional away record, having gone 28 Bundesliga matches unbeaten on the road, winning 20 of those encounters.

With momentum on their side, Die Werkself will hope to extend that streak and keep their slim title aspirations alive.