Barcelona vs Eintracht Frankfurt preview: team news and possible line-ups
Eintracht hope to maintain the level of the first leg and take advantage of their chances to knock out Barcelona.
Eintracht coach Oliver Glasner said at the pre-match press conference that Die Adler have to do their absolute best and give their all to advance, with anything less the trainer said they won’t stand a chance.
The Austrian also addressed Frankfurt’s doubts.
With Tuta out suspended, Glasner said that they have a couple of variants and possibilities in mind.
Martin Hinteregger could fill that place while veteran Makoto Hasebe plays in the center of the defense, Djibril Sow will be a last moment decision.
The trainer has not decided yet about the starting squad for the clash.
Eintracht hope the invasion of fans carries them to the victory, Spanish media reports up to 30.000 German fans despite only 5000 having tickets.
Die Adler get to Camp Nou after a tough loss against Freiburg where the team didn’t rotate much and played like they usually do, creating opportunities in the transitions and taking a lot of shots, but where they also made the same mistakes they have done throughout the whole season.
The locals had an intense weekend too, struggling to beat Levante by 2-3 with a last-minute goal from Luuk de Jong.
The team suffered in the defensive transitions and made too many individual mistakes, they also lacked creativity and fluidity in the offensive term until Pedri and Gavi came into the pitch.
Xavi said in the press conference the Blaugranas need to improve their performance of the first leg.
The Spanish trainer emphasized that is key to reduce ball losses in order to limit Eintracht’s counterattacks, along with better positioning.
Barcelona themselves have doubts about the starting XI.
Pique wants to play despite not being 100% fit, Depay and Dest are also available for the first time in a while.
Regarding the Dutch full-back, Xavi said it's possible for him to play as he is a player that gives a lot to the team.
Tactically both teams won’t change much from their usual game as shown in the first match.
Frankfurt are going to try to block Barcelona’s passing lines and press them when possible, while offensively looking for quick transitions and long passes at the space behind the Catalonians' defensive line.
The locals are going to play their game, trying to improve the speed of the combinations and the offensive movements in order to create the spaces to attack Eintracht.
Aside from the forced change due to Tuta’s sending off, it would be a surprise to see Oliver Glasner make another change in the squad.
Hasebe seems like the best and most probable option, the Japanese defender is a reliable veteran and is accustomed to the functioning of the squad, he is also the one that does not modify Glasner’s structure of three center-back.
If Djibril Sow is out the favorite to replace him is Sebastian Rode, forming the midfield duo with Jakic.
The rest of the squad will probably stay the same.
Barcelona have a couple more doubts as Xavi needs to choose which recently fit player he wants to play in the defense.
He could play Pique as a center-back and move Araujo to the right-back position again or let the Uruguayan play his natural position and trust in Sergiño Dest to cover Filip Kostic.
The thing with Dest is that as much as he is much more of an offensive threat than Araujo, meaning Kostic has to be a little more aware in the defensive end, his defensive traits have not been quite good since his arrival to Barcelona.
The other question is who joins Busquets and Pedri in midfield, it will be between De Jong and Gavi, with the latter changing the game against Levante alongside Pedri, whom he assisted for the second goal. This could be an argument in favor of the Andalusian.
There is a small possibility of Ferran moving to the false nine position as the Spaniard helps more in the build-up and combinations than Aubemeyang, with Dembele and Adama Traore down the wings, but it seems unlikely.