Eintracht Frankfurt vs Galatasaray Champions League preview: Team news and predicted lineups

Eintracht Frankfurt will look to bounce back from Friday’s 3-1 defeat to Bayer Leverkusen when they host Turkish champions Galatasaray in their Champions League opener at Deutsche Bank Park on Thursday.

Dino Toppmöller’s side made a promising start to the season, beating Werder Bremen 4-1 and Hoffenheim 3-1 before slipping to Friday’s defeat in a dramatic encounter.

On a positive note for Eintracht, promising youngster Can Uzun scored for the third consecutive game, taking his Bundesliga goal tally to three this season. On Thursday, the 19-year-old will face several of his Turkish national team teammates, who he recently linked up with during the international break.

Galatasaray have enjoyed an impressive start to their season, winning their first five league games. 

Most recently, they defeated Eyupspor in a match that saw former Germany captain Ilkay Gündogan make his debut for the club. 

Former Germany winger Leroy Sané also plays for the Turkish champions, having joined from Bayern Munich over the summer.

Team news and predicted lineups:

Rasmus Nissen Kristensen suffered a muscle injury on Friday and is expected to be sidelined until October. 

The Danish defender’s absence means Nathaniel Brown is likely to start at left-back, with Nnamdi Collins then moving to the right and Arthur Theate partnering Robin Koch in central defense.

Meanwhile, Mario Götze remains sidelined with a muscle injury, while Eintracht hope to have Hugo Larsson (illness) back in the squad.

For Galatasaray, Victor Osimhen is in a race against time to recover from an ankle injury. If he is not fit enough to start, Mauro Icardi is expected to lead the line for the visitors.

Click here to see our predicted Eintracht Frankfurt vs Galatasaray lineups.