Frankfurt's Sow remains out for Union, Rønnow prepares to start against former club
Eintracht Frankfurt head-coach Oliver Glasner will have to wait until after a squad training season to observe which players still carry fatigue with them from Thursday's Europa League away leg in Barcelona.
What can be said for certain is that midfielder Djibril Sow remains out.
The unenviable task of hosting emotionally buoyed Frankfurt falls to 1. FC Union Berlin this coming Sunday. Former Frankfurt keeper Frederick Rønnow will get a chance to play against his former club.
What can be said for certain is that midfielder Djibril Sow remains out.
The unenviable task of hosting emotionally buoyed Frankfurt falls to 1. FC Union Berlin this coming Sunday. Former Frankfurt keeper Frederick Rønnow will get a chance to play against his former club.
| Dani Olmo (left) and Djibril Sow (right). | Photo: GEPA Pictures/Roger Petzsche |
"He's still in pain when making certain movements," Glasner revealed, "We simply cannot chance it at Union."
As he often has in the past, Glasner hinted that there might be squad rotations after Thursday night's emotional victory. At this point, such talk should be taken with a grain of salt. Glasner rarely tinkers with his XI and has often rolled out the exact same crew after an Europa League matchday.
The coming fixture in Köpenick naturally piques the interest of many in German footballing circles. Die Eisernen have finally began to find their footing following some stumbles after the January departures of Marvin Friedrich and Max Kruse. Urs Fischer's crew are winners of two straight and back in contention for the European places.
With first-string keeper Andreas Luthe out, Frederick Rønnow has been working between the sticks for the FCU. According to German footballing magazine Kicker, he will once again get the nod.
The 29-year-old surely still harbors strong feelings when it comes to his former club. After he did a fine job filling in for the injured Kevin Trapp during the 2019/20 season, Rønnow found himself rather cruelly loaned out to Schalke last year.
In a battle between two sides who very much want to attain Europe next season should be a closely contested affair. Union head-coach Urs Fischer was the first to congratulate his upcoming opponents on their galactic victory over FC Barcelona on Friday.
Fischer called it "an incredible compliment" while also revealing that he didn't watch the match live. The FCU coaching staff and its Swiss trainer were actually all over at the Berliner Arena am Ostbanof Thursday evening to watch the hometown Berlin Eisbären play an ice hockey match against the visiting Köler Haie.