Eintracht Frankfurt vs Tottenham: Preview, predictions and lineups

The biggest game in Tottenham Hotspur’s season arrives on Thursday night as they visit Eintracht Frankfurt in the second leg of a Europa League quarter-final.

The two sides are locked at 1-1 after an entertaining first leg in north London, with Spurs ruing an array of missed second half chances after falling behind early to their visitors. Pedro Porro cancelled out Hugo Ekitike’s superb opener midway through the first half and were dominant for the remainder of the contest without reward.

We’ve long known that Spurs’ campaign boils down to their success in Europe, and they endured more domestic misery at the weekend; losing 4-2 at Wolves which saw them end the weekend 15th in the Premier League table.

Frankfurt, on the contrary, were victorious on Sunday. Their 3-0 win over Heidenheim ensured they retained a three-point advantage over fourth-place RB Leipzig in their very promising quest to return to the Champions League.

The winner of this tie will meet either Bodo/Glimt or Lazio in the semi-finals. The favoured Italians have a 2-0 deficit to make up in Rome if they’re to advance.

Here’s 90min’s guide to the clash in Germany.

Eintracht Frankfurt vs Tottenham head-to-head record (all games)

Current form (all competitions)

Dino Toppmoller opted against wholesale changes in the Bundesliga at the weekend, with Hugo Ekitike finding himself on the scoresheet again in Frankfurt’s 3-0 victory over Heidenheim. Mario Gotze and Nathaniel Brown were among the few players who dropped to the bench and could return to the XI on Thursday.

Brazilian goalkeeper Kaua Santos was the hero in N17, and he’ll retain his place over the injured Kevin Trapp between the posts. Eric Ebimbe and Krisztian Lisztes are both battling illness ahead of the second leg, with the pair doubtful to play a part.

Ansgar Knauff is nursing a knee injury but could be ready in time for Spurs’ visit.

Frankfurt Predicted Lineup vs Tottenham (4-2-3-1): Kaua; Kristensen, Koch, Tuta, Theate; Skhiri, Larsson; Brown, Gotze, Bahoya; Ecitic.

Postecoglou unsurprisingly rotated heavily at the weekend, with only six players keeping their place from the first leg. We should expect Spurs to line up similarly to last week, although Dejan Kulusevski’s return to action has given the manager something to think about.

The Swede appeared off the bench at Molineux and could return to the starting lineup in Frankfurt, potentially replacing Brennan Johnson down the right.

Kevin Danso is also poised for a return, but the Austrian international won’t make the team over Cristian Romero. Micky van de Ven will come back in to partner the Argentine. Fellow centre-back Radu Dragusin is a long-term absentee.

Tottenham Predicted Lineup vs Frankfurt (4-3-3): Vicar; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Bergvall, Bentancur, Madmer; Kulusevski, Solanke, son.

This is surely the night when the Ange Postecoglou era draws to a close. Spurs were as good as they’ve been in months last Thursday, but you can’t help but think they’ll come to rue their first leg squandered chances in Germany.

Kulusevski’s return is big, but we simply haven’t seen Spurs produce a proper performance away from home in Europe since Mauricio Pochettino left town almost six years ago. While they don’t require an Ajax-esque miracle, this team must find something from somewhere to mitigate a raucous atmosphere and a Frankfurt side that will, this time, take the game to Postecoglou’s men.

Expect the visitors to wilt.

Prediction: Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1 Tottenham

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