Eintracht Frankfurt vs West Ham United
A big night in the Europa League awaits.
After last week’s first legs, the two Bundesliga clubs (Eintracht Frankfurt and RB Leipzig) hold the advantage over British duo (West Ham and Glasgow Rangers).
Yet if the competition has taught us anything this season, then it is far from over.
Talking Points
Nowhere was this more surprising than in the Nou Camp in the quarter-finals where Barcelona, tournament favourites with the SBOTOP Europa League betting odds, came into the encounter as the most in-form team in Europe’s top-five leagues (on a run of 11 wins and four draws from 15 La Liga outings), not to mention their Euro exploits.
Clearly Frankfurt had not read the script.
They simply made everyone sit up and take notice as they went to Catalonia and raced into a 3-0 lead and the result was never in doubt, despite Barca scoring two late goals.
Nor had they read the script in last week’s first leg in east London which means they are taking a 2-1 lead back to what should be a raucous Deutsche Bank Park.
With Filip Kostic blazing a trail at one end of the field and both Kevin Trapp and Martin Hinteregger running a tight ship at the other, Frankfurt’s pursuit of a second European trophy is in good shape.
There are many reasons why they are being backed.
For a start, with five assists in 10 games, Kostic is currently the assist king in the competition, while the Serbian winger also took his tally of goals to three with his brace in Barcelona.
There’s also Ansgar Knauff who reminded parent club Borussia Dortmund what they’re missing with a pair of effervescent displays on the right wing against Barcelona, including a stunning volleyed goal in the first leg. He then backed that up by heading home the opener against West Ham and the 20 year-old appears to be getting better and better with each passing week.
As they chase more Europa League highlights and a European success to add to their 1980 UEFA Cup triumph, it is clear this is their prime focus – as shown by the fact they rested a number of key men and made eight changes for their Bundesliga clash with Bayer Leverkusen on Monday night (a 2-0 defeat).
If this is Frankfurt’s most important contest since they faced another London club Chelsea in a thrilling semi-final at the same stage three years ago, it is arguably West Ham’s biggest match for more than 30 years.
In fact, the 1991 FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest is the last time I can remember the Hammers dreaming of reaching a major final (I never thought they had a chance in the 2014 League Cup semi-final).
Aiming to reach their first European final in 46 years, they go to Germany with trepidation.
Yet if they can sharpen up defensively from last week’s first leg, not to mention have a bit more luck in front of goal – they hit the woodwork three times – then perhaps their dreams of reaching the Seville final later this month can become a reality.
It was evident to me how much they miss centre back Craig Dawson when he is not playing. Dawson is someone who has impressed me ever since he featured for Bolton in the 2012-13 Championship campaign. It was clear even then that he was a player deserving of being at a higher level.
There can be few higher levels than a European final.
David Moyes deserves much credit for the way he has improved the east Londoners during his second spell in charge at the club.
A European final would earn him a mini place in club folklore and he also mixed and matched with his team selection in their weekend defeat to Arsenal with Tomas Soucek and Michail Antonio on the bench.
All in all then, this is the biggest match of the season for both these clubs. Expect no quarter to be given.
History
Until last week, their only previous European encounters – and West Ham’s most recent against German opposition – was in the 1976 European Cup Winners’ Cup semi-final.
Frankfurt won the first leg 2-1 at home before the East London side came back to take the tie with a 3-1 victory at Upton Park when Trevor Brooking scored twice. The Hammers would go on to lose the final, 4-2 to Anderlecht in Brussels.
Betting Tip
Don’t forget to check out the odds as these suggest it will be a close-run thing.
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