RB Leipzig vs Eintracht Frankfurt: Preview and Prediction
With the Bundesliga done and dusted, the attention of the German fans must be firmly set on the upcoming DFB Pokal final with RB Leipzig set to lock horns against Eintracht Frankfurt at the Olympiastadion in Berlin. Leipzig are the reigning champions having won the German Cup last season as they defeated SC Freiburg 4-2 on penalties.
It will be Die Roten Bullen’s third consecutive appearance in the final, they reached the final in the 2019-20 edition as well, but lost to Borussia Dortmund. However, their victory last season saw the club win their first-ever German Cup and the defending champions will hope to add to their tally but Frankfurt will be standing in their way.
Oliver Glasner’s side reached the summit clash after defeating Vfb Stuttgart 3-2 in the semifinals courtesy of goals from Evan Ndicka, Daichi Kamada and a penalty from Randal Kolo Muani.
While Kamada is on the verge of signing for AC Milan, Kolo Muani has also been linked to to multiple teams all across Europe, but both of them would hope to sign off with a parting gift by helping the Eagles win their sixth German Cup title.
On the other hand, Marco Rose’s side thrashed last season’s runners-up SC Freiburg 5-1 in the semifinal. Dani Olmo, Benjamin Henrichs, Christopher Nkunku, and Josko Gvardiol all got a goal each while Dominik Szoboszlai scored a brace whereas Michael Gregoritsch got a consolation strike for his side.
With both teams known for their free-scoring form, it should be a cracking contest in the summit clash which will take place on Saturday, 3 June.
Current Form
Talking about the current form of these two clubs, both teams will enter the final on the back of a winning run, Leipzig defeated Schalke 4-2 in their final Bundesliga match of the season, as they finished third on 66 points behind Dortmund.
Frankfurt meanwhile defeated Freiburg 2-1 as they narrowly missed out on Europa League football after finishing seventh and they will contest in the Conference League play-offs while a victory in the final of the German Cup would land them a place in the Europa League. The Eagles racked up 50 points from 34 games but finished behind Bayer Leverkusen on goal difference.
Since the start of May, Glasner’s side has only dropped points during a 2-2 draw with Schalke, winning their remaining three matches before the finale.
Meanwhile, Die Roten Bullen have won all of their previous six matches including an emphatic 3-1 win over Bayern Munich. The last team to beat Rose’s side was Leverkusen and that defeat came on April 23. Since Rose took over as coach in September, no side has picked up more points in the Bundesliga.
Head-to-Head Record
The two German clubs have squared off against each other on 15 occasions and they are evenly matched in terms of their past record, both sides have claimed 4 wins against each other while the remaining 7 matches have ended in a stalemate.
So there’s not much to choose in terms of the head-to-head record between the two finalists. The last match between these two sides ended 2-1 in the favour of Die Roten Bullen with Timo Werner and Emil Forsberg’s goals helping Rose’s side to a victory back in February.
Team News
Bundesliga’s joint-top scorer Christopher Nkunku in training ahead of DFB Cup final
As far as the defending champions are concerned, their coach has a nearly full-strength squad to choose from. The only long-term absentee on their side is goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi who suffered a torn ACL in October and subsequently underwent surgery for the same.
He has since returned to light training and completed some goalkeeping drills recently but in all likelihood will not be in the squad for the DFB Cup final. Timo Werner shrugged off an infection to return to the playing XI against Schalke while Xaver Schlager is also back to full fitness after recovering from his syndesmosis ligament injury.
Rose is likely to play his full-strength side and it could be very similar in terms of personnel to the team that he fielded for the last league game of the season.
Elsewhere, the Eagles too have a near full-strength roster to choose from, the only two long-term absentees for them are centre-back Hrvoje Smolcic who sustained a rupture in his outer meniscus, and centre-forward Lucas Alario who has sustained knee problems and both of them are not expected to be in the squad for the summit clash.
Predicted Starting XIs
RB Leipzig (4-2-2-2): Ørjan Nyland; Mohamed Simakan, Lukas Klostermann, Josko Gvardiol, Marcel Halstenberg; Konrad Laimer, Amadou Haidara, Dani Olmo; Emil Forsberg; Timo Werner, Christopher Nkunku
Eintracht Frankfurt (3-4-2-1): Kevin Trapp; Tuta, Makoto Hasebe, Evan Ndicka; Aurelio Buta, Daichi Kamada, Djibril Sow, Christopher Lenz; Mario Gotze, Jesper Lindstrøm, Randal Kolo Muani
Prediction
Given the fact that Die Roten Bullen have a slight edge when it comes to their recent form, and the fact that they will be playing in their third final, Rose’s side will have an upper hand in the summit clash, although Frankfurt is not likely to go down without a fight.