Bayern Munich vs Eintracht Frankfurt: Bundesliga Match Prediction & Preview

League leaders Bayern Munich kicked off their Bundesliga restart on an auspicious note with a 2-0 win over Union Berlin in the German capital. Their title defense continues as they welcome an ailing Eintracht Frankfurt at the Allianz Arena.

The Bavarians are clearly the favorites in this matchup despite Eintracht Frankfurt thumping them 5-1 in the reverse fixture in November. Fortunes have turned for both sides since that fateful night at the Commerzbank-Arena.

Recent form

Robert Lewandowski and Benjamin Pavard’s goals helped Bayern Munich defeat Die Eiserne last weekend. The win helped Bayern Munich maintain their four-point cushion over second-placed Borussia Dortmund. 

This was Die Roten’s fifth win in a row. The defending champions are undefeated in their last 12 Bundesliga games.

Eintracht Frankfurt, on the other hand, were outplayed and outclassed by Borussia Mönchengladbach at Borussia-Park. The hosts won 3-1 with the first two goals coming in the opening seven minutes.

The loss to Mönchengladbach was Frankfurt’s fourth in a row in the league, leaving coach Adi Hutter in hot water. 13th placed Die Adler’s last win was a 5-0 mauling of FC Augsburg on February 7.

When it comes to head-to-head meetings, Bayern Munich have the upper hand, despite the loss in November 2019. The Bavarians have won five of their last six against Die Adler and 10 of their last 11 at the Allianz Arena. Frankfurt having the worst away record in the Bundesliga with nine losses, one draw and two wins.

Bayern Munich form: WWWWW [Last five Bundesliga games]

Eintracht Frankfurt last five Bundesliga games: WLLLL [Last five Bundesliga games]

Last time out

The pair’s last meeting saw Frankfurt snatch the bragging rights with a 5-1 win in front of an electric home crowd. Jerome Boateng’s dismissal in the ninth minute gave Hutter’s cohorts an advantage which they capitalized on. Frankfurt had five different scorers on that night.

The heavy defeat served as the final nail in the coffin for Niko Kovac as Bayern Munich manager. The Croat, interestingly, had an acclaimed spell as Frankfurt manager before taking up the job in Munich.

Since then, Bayern have improved massively under Hans-Dieter Flick who converted from interim to full-time manager. Hutter’s Frankfurt, on the other hand, have been wallowing in mediocrity.

Team news

For the hosts, Niklas Sule, Philippe Coutinho and Corentin Tolisso are the absentees. All of them are sidelined with injuries. Sule is back in training after recovering from an ACL tear but it remains to be seen if he’ll play this season.

Eintracht Frankfurt will be missing the services of Dominik Kohr who is suspended for this match. Top goalscorer Gonçalo Paciência’s status for the game is doubtful.

Andre Silva is likely to start over goal threat Bas Dost as the latter has some nagging adductor issues. In midfield, Lucas Torro has recovered but it is likely that Japanese veteran Makoto Hasebe will start over him.

Key Battles

Robert Lewandowski vs Martin Hinteregger

Thanos’ remark of him being ‘inevitable’ is a very apt description of Robert Lewandowski. 

The Polish striker has been the same goal threat that he has been for the past few seasons. The only difference this time out is that the world has finally noticed his extraordinary goal return.

Lewandowski’s converted penalty against Union Berlin helped him take his overall goal tally for the season to 40 across all competitions. It also made him the third player, after Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, to score 40 or more goals in five consecutive seasons.

He has been so deadly in front of goal that Hansi Flick has tipped him to break Gerd Muller’s record of 40 goals in a single Bundesliga season.

With such mind-boggling numbers and superlative performances, one can do nothing but pity Martin Hinteregger. The defender will be leading his line against a near-unstoppable Lewandowski and it will be a massive achievement if they can prevent the Pole from getting his 27th (or more) Bundesliga goal of the 2019-2020 season.

Benjamin Pavard vs Filip Kostic

If Lewandowski will be keeping Frankfurt’s defense busy, Filip Kostic will be waiting at the other end to do the same.

The Serbian produced a masterclass in the 5-1 win over Bayern Munich in November. Despite his team’s indifferent form this season, Kostic has been impressive, amassing eight assists which puts him at seventh on the Bundesliga assists chart for the season.

Kostic’s direct play and accurate crossing will be troublesome for Benjamin Pavard, who will have to rely on support from Joshua Kimmich and Thiago Alcantara to close down spaces. Pavard also likes to make deep forays while attacking which does make Bayern Munich susceptible to counterattacks – situations ideal for a player like Kostic.

Serge Gnabry vs Evan Ndicka

The 2019-2020 season has been a watershed for Serge Gnabry who was cemented his place in Bayern Munich’s XI.

The former Arsenal winger has remained fit and impressed with his creativity and skill up front. The German has formed a strong understanding with Lewandowski and Thomas Muller as the three have been wreaking havoc on opposing defenses.

Gnabry’s quick feet and playmaking ability will test the energetic Evan Ndicka. The French defender is still making his name in senior-level football but has shown some promise. He will have to be fully focused in this match as giving Gnabry too much room might prove to be fatal.

Prediction

Bayern Munich walking away without all three points will be a big surprise in this game.

Flick’s men did not look a hundred percent in the win over Union Berlin, but still produced moments of fine quality. The fact that Eintracht Frankfurt were out of sorts in the restart weekend tips the scales even more in Bayern Munich’s favor.

I expect Bayern Munich to thoroughly dominate proceedings in this game and cruise to a two-goal win. Lewandowski will be able to find the net, considering how inept Frankfurt’s defense looked last weekend.

The visitors will not stay quiet though. They are bound to catch Bayern off-guard but will not be able to put the ball past Manuel Neuer.

Predicted scoreline: Bayern Munich 2-0 Eintracht Frankfurt