The Europa League returns this evening as the Biancocelesti travel to Germany for Eintracht Frankfurt vs Lazio. Frankfurt, who gained entry to the tournament due to their surprise win in the DfB Pokal over German champions Bayern Munich, have not had the best start to Bundesliga this season but defeated Marseille 2-1 in their opening Europa League fixture.
Last season, Eintracht Frankfurt finished 8th in Bundesliga, lifting the DfB Pokal as aforementioned. However, it has not been the best of starts to 2018/19 for the German side, who crashed out in their opening DfB Pokal match against German fourth division side Ulm. Frankfurt have won just three of their opening nine games, with a 5-0 defeat to Bayern and 3-1 defeats to Dortmund and Monchengladbach. Furthermore, Frankfurt have won just two of their last six home games, although holding RB Leipzig to a 1-1 draw at the end of September.
Lazio, on the other hand, have had a mixed start to the 18/19 Serie A campaign. After consecutive defeats to Napoli and Juventus 2-1 and 2-0 on match-day 1 and 2 respectively, Inzaghi’s men won four in-a-row before defeat against Roma in the Derby della Capitale on Saturday afternoon. The Biancocelesti will be looking to bounce back from this and make it two wins in two games in Europa League this season.
Team News for Frankfurt vs Lazio
Eintracht Frankfurt have a long list of players who are doubtful for tonight’s game. Chandler, Paciencia, Salcedo and Jetro Willems are all confirmed to not be playing this evening, whilst Abraham, Geraldes and Tawatha will be touch-and-go up to the kick off. Lazio, meanwhile, are without Jordan Lukaku and Stefan Radu, with Inzaghi likely to rotate given the congested fixture list of recent weeks.
Frankfurt: Trapp; Russ, Hasebe, Ndicka; Da Costa, De Guzman, Torro, Allan, Kostic; Haller, Rebic
Lazio: Proto; Bastos, Acerbi, Caceres; Lulic, Badelj, Lucas, Sergej, Basta; Joaquin Correa, Felipe Caicedo
Prediction for Frankfurt vs Lazio
It’s bound to be a tough clash for the Biancocelesti this evening, as Frankfurt are no easy side to beat. However, it may be fortunate that Inzaghi’s side are facing this Frankfurt side now, rather than the team that won six Bundesliga home games in-a-row at the end of last season and defeated Bayern in the cup final. Lazio should have enough about them and will look to put the defeat to Roma well and truly in the past with a convincing return to form today.
Prediction: Frankfurt 0-2 Lazio
Check out our YouTube channel!
For more reports, exclusive news and features, visit our homepage!
