Borussia Dortmund vs. Eintracht Frankfurt is the game with the highest possibility of serving up a feast this week in the Bundesliga.
Dortmund is coming into the match on the back of a rather lackluster performance in Ukraine. A 2-2 away draw is definitely a good result in the Champions League; however, despite the fact that BVB was marginally the better side on the day, the performance did not match those of BVB’s ones in the group stages.
Dortmund’s mental strength was tested endlessly in Ukraine. After dominating the initial part of the match, they fell behind to a brilliant free kick from Darijo Srna. It did not take long for the Ruhr side to come back; Robert Lewandowski equalized coolly before half time.
In the second half, BVB’s performance was rather frantic. They fell behind to a Douglas Costa goal following a howler from Mats Hummels. It was Hummels who eventually rescued the draw for Dortmund though with a great header late on.
During the first half of the Bundesliga season, BVB did not manage to light up the Bundesliga in the manner in which they did the previous two seasons. They were poor especially following Champions League matches. This will be music to Frankfurt’s ears. Frankfurt had no midweek matches to take care of unlike Dortmund, making them fresher coming into this encounter.
Frankfurt is capable of tiring the opposition out. They look to control the midfield almost always. After losing to Bayer Leverkusen after the winter break, Frankfurt recorded back to back victories. Last week, they surprisingly failed to beat Nürnberg. They managed to pick up a single point against the Bavarians.
In the previous meeting between the two sides, Armin Veh’s team showed why they are definitely a shoe-in for the Champions League qualifying spot this season. They went down 0-2 but pegged Dortmund back. Eventually, the game finished 3-3, earning Frankfurt a morale boosting point. Frankfurt will be looking to earn more than just a point in this one.
Jürgen Klopp’s options on the bench are rather small as illnesses and injuries are keeping quite a few of his squad members out. Neven Subotic could return to the starting lineup as Felipe Santana started in midweek against Shaktar.
Julian Schieber could be set to receive playing time in place of the suspended Robert Lewandowski. Nuri Sahin could be handed a start in place of either captain Sebastian Kehl or Sven Bender. Veh does not have to change things around much as his team is not involved in Europe.
Frankfurt likes to play possession based football whereas BVB likes to press and play on the counter attack. BVB’s strategy needs plenty of energy though; the Dortmund players must surely be drained after a trip to Ukraine. A repeat of last week’s debacle against Hamburg could see BVB sink to third.
Prediction: Dortmund 2-2 Frankfurt
Dortmund’s mental strength was tested endlessly in Ukraine. After dominating the initial part of the match, they fell behind to a brilliant free kick from Darijo Srna. It did not take long for the Ruhr side to come back; Robert Lewandowski equalized coolly before half time.
In the second half, BVB’s performance was rather frantic. They fell behind to a Douglas Costa goal following a howler from Mats Hummels. It was Hummels who eventually rescued the draw for Dortmund though with a great header late on.
During the first half of the Bundesliga season, BVB did not manage to light up the Bundesliga in the manner in which they did the previous two seasons. They were poor especially following Champions League matches. This will be music to Frankfurt’s ears. Frankfurt had no midweek matches to take care of unlike Dortmund, making them fresher coming into this encounter.
Frankfurt is capable of tiring the opposition out. They look to control the midfield almost always. After losing to Bayer Leverkusen after the winter break, Frankfurt recorded back to back victories. Last week, they surprisingly failed to beat Nürnberg. They managed to pick up a single point against the Bavarians.
In the previous meeting between the two sides, Armin Veh’s team showed why they are definitely a shoe-in for the Champions League qualifying spot this season. They went down 0-2 but pegged Dortmund back. Eventually, the game finished 3-3, earning Frankfurt a morale boosting point. Frankfurt will be looking to earn more than just a point in this one.
Jürgen Klopp’s options on the bench are rather small as illnesses and injuries are keeping quite a few of his squad members out. Neven Subotic could return to the starting lineup as Felipe Santana started in midweek against Shaktar.
Julian Schieber could be set to receive playing time in place of the suspended Robert Lewandowski. Nuri Sahin could be handed a start in place of either captain Sebastian Kehl or Sven Bender. Veh does not have to change things around much as his team is not involved in Europe.
Frankfurt likes to play possession based football whereas BVB likes to press and play on the counter attack. BVB’s strategy needs plenty of energy though; the Dortmund players must surely be drained after a trip to Ukraine. A repeat of last week’s debacle against Hamburg could see BVB sink to third.
Prediction: Dortmund 2-2 Frankfurt
