Eintracht Frankfurt – Werder Bremen : Preview & Prediction
A 3-0 loss to Cologne last time out saw Eintracht Frankfurt drop to sixth in the Bundesliga standings, albeit with a five-point cushion over seventh. Coach Oliver Glasner was dismayed by the game and said, “I’m really angry with us,” after their nine-game unbeaten run collapsed (G6, E3), but there is no time to cry about it as the team looks for a confidence-boosting win ahead of their UEFA Champions League Round of 16 match next Tuesday.
Returning home should boost the “Eagles,” who have scored at least three goals in four consecutive official home wins before the visit of Werder Bremen. A run of five head-to-head clashes between the two without defeat from the last six games serves to give them added confidence heading into the resurgence (W2, D3, L1), but they have failed to win both matches against Werder in the same season in more than a decade.
Werder Bremen coach Ole Werner will also want to see his team rebound after their recent 2-0 loss to Borussia Dortmund. Werner remained stoic in his response to the result, stating that it was “not a performance that sinks us,” but this is a must-win clash if his side are to close the eight-point gap to hosts Frankfurt, who are currently running sixth.
However, there is little expectation of achieving this within Bremen, considering the team is experiencing its first season back in the top flight. Remarkably, a 2-0 win at home to Stuttgart earlier this month equaled Werder’s number of away wins in their last top-flight campaign and they now accumulate four after nine away games (G4, E2, P3), but victories in Frankfurt have proved elusive over the last decade (G1, E4, P4).
Players to watch: These teams have two league leaders in their own right, with Frankfurt’s Randal Kolo Muani contributing 19 goals (G9, A10), the most in the entire league, and Werder Bremen’s Niclas Füllkrug, who already has 13 goals so far this season and is the top scorer in the entire Bundesliga. In fact, the duo made three direct goalscoring contributions between them in the last meeting between the two sides.
Key fact: Frankfurt and Werder Bremen are tied for second in the league with seven goals in the first 15 minutes, including one each in the first-leg match between the two sides!
Eintracht Frankfurt – Werder Bremen : Betting Tips
Eintracht Frankfurt – Win Odds: 1.80
