German Bundesliga - Eintracht Frankfurt vs. Borussia Monchengladbach - Preview & Prediction

By Valdis Pans

Sitting 12th in the Bundesliga, Eintracht Frankfurt will try to end a three-game losing streak while hosting Borussia Monchengladbach, who look determined to finish in the Top 4. Kick-off - at 12:30 PM ET on Saturday.

Frankfurt Lose Three Straight

After losing to Chelsea on penalties in the semi-final of Europa League last year after making the competition as the winners of the German Cup in 2018, Eintracht Frankfurt will likely be hoping to get a pass to the second biggest European club soccer tournament through the same path (they will be facing Bayern Munich in DFB-Pokal’s semi-final in June). As it stands, making the Top 6 of the Bundesliga to get the all-clear for Europe, this season doesn’t look likely for the Eagles, who are sitting 12th in the league with 28 points from 24 contests (W8 D4 L12), nine points below the 6th-placed Schalke 04, has gone on a three-game losing streak prior to the coronavirus outbreak.

Portuguese centre forward Goncalo Paciencia, who is spending his second season with the Frankfurt club, currently tops the team’s goal-scoring chart with seven strikes. Austrian centre-back Martin Hinteregger follows 2nd with six markers. Goalie Kevin Trapp, meanwhile, has made 45 saves during 13 starts this season, adding three clean sheets on top. He concedes a goal every 59 minutes on average. Eintracht Frankfurt are 7th in most goals buried (38), 4th in most shots recorded (358) and 11th in ball possession (48.6%).

Gladbach Aim For Top 4

Last year, Borussia Monchengladbach were just three points short of qualifying for the Champions League this season. So, it is not surprising to see the team being extra motivated to make Bundesliga’s Top 4 this time around, currently sitting 4th with 49 points from 25 matches (W15 D4 L6), trailing the 3rd (RB Leipzig), 2nd (Borussia Dortmund) and 1st (Bayern Munich) places by one, two and six points respectively, albeit only two points ahead of the 5th-placed Bayer Leverkusen. The Foals were entering the coronavirus lockdown on the back of a 2-1 home defeat against Dortmund, but were unbeaten in six league games prior (W4 D2).

Alassane Plea (8 goals, 7 assists), Breel Embolo (7 goals, 3 assists), Lars Stindl (6 goals, 3 assists), Marcus Thuram (6 goals 8 assists) and Patrick Herrmann (5 goals, 5 assists) lead Die Fohlen in scoring. Goalie Yann Sommer, meanwhile, tops the whole league in shots saved (97), having posted five clean sheets along the way, giving up a goal every 75 minutes of play on average. Gladbach are 4h in most goals scored (49), 6th in most shots delivered (340), and 6th in control of the ball (51.5%).

Prediction

Borussia Monchengladbach was showing quite a strong form before losing 2-1 on own turf to Borussia Dortmund just before the postponement of Bundesliga in March, going on a six-game point run (W4 D2). So, do expect the team to bounce back versus a foe, against which the Foals have already picked up seven points in their last three meetings (W2 D1). Eintracht Frankfurt have dropped their past three decisions, being outscored 10-1, and are about to face a team, which has gone unbeaten on its last three travels (W2 D1). Bank on the Eagles to score at least once, though! The very last seven Bundesliga games of Gladbach have seen both sides get off the mark, with both teams also scoring in the last three head-to-head contests between Die Fohlen and Die Adler.

Best bets:

Borussia Monchengladbach to win (+140)

Both teams to score (-170)

Correct score: 2-1 to Gladbach (+810)