Eintracht Frankfurt vs Mainz Preview: Team News & Prediction
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Eintracht Frankfurt can make it four league games unbeaten, whilst Mainz are looking to break out of the automatic relegation places.
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Eintracht Frankfurt preview: Turning a corner defensively
We’ve spoken at length about Eintracht Frankfurt’s defensive disasters and their inability to stop conceding goals over the course of the season. But over the past couple of weeks, Dino Toppmoller’s men have finally begun to turn things around at the back. The decision to reinstate Michael Zetterer as first-choice goalkeeper has been crucial to the upturn.
Zetterer now boasts clean sheets in two of Frankfurt’s last four games in all competitions, conceding just two goals in total across those matches. The most recent of those fixtures was a hugely credible 0-0 draw away to Serie A holders Napoli in the Champions League.
Mainz preview: Relegation a real threat
Mainz’s collapse in form has left them stuck inside the bottom two and under severe pressure. They’ve registered just one point across their last five league matches and their squad are clearly struggling with balancing their UEFA Conference League campaign with the bread and butter of the Bundesliga.
Frustratingly, Mainz’s results in Europe have been excellent. Ultimately though, it seems to be coming at a cost to their league form and if they aren’t careful, it could lead to them being cut adrift inside the automatic relegation places.
Eintracht Frankfurt team news: Uzun a big miss
Eintracht Frankfurt will have to make do without midfielder Can Uzun, a significant loss for them when considering his form this season. Fares Chaibi is doubtful and Ellyes Skhiri could start in his absence.
Predicted XI: (3-4-3): Zetterer; Kristensen, Koch, Theate; Doan, Chaibi, Skhiri, Brown; Gotze, Burkardt, Knauff
Unavailable: Hojlund (Injured), Uzun (Injured)
Questionable: Chaibi (Injured)
Mainz team news: Caci still out
Silvan Widmer is likely to fill in at right-wing-back with Anthony Caci still out injured. Although the visitors could run back what we saw from them against Fiorentina last time out, Mwene on the right side and Kawasaki at left-wing-back.
Predicted XI: (3-4-3): Zentner; Hanche-Olsen, Maloney, Kohr; Widmer, Sano, Amiri, Mwene; Nebel, Hollerbach, Lee
Unavailable: Caci (Injured), Dal (Injured)
Questionable: Bell (Injured)
Eintracht Frankfurt vs Mainz prediction
Both these two teams had European fixtures against Italian clubs to contend with in midweek, so fatigue could be a factor for each of them. But Eintracht Frankfurt are comfortably better-placed to counter that with better squad depth than their opponents, not to mention home advantage against a Mainz side who have shipped six goals across their last two league games on the road.
After Toppmoller’s men suffered a blip thanks largely to those defensive deficiencies which seem to have been somewhat rectified, Eintracht have since kicked on and will be expected to wind up too strong for a stuttering Mainz in this encounter.
Eintracht Frankfurt vs Mainz tip: Eintracht Frankfurt to win
