Eintracht Frankfurt vs Bayern Munich preview: Can Frankfurt shock the Bundesliga?
To open a new Bundesliga campaign, the champions from Bavaria travel to Deutsche Bank Park to take on the Europa League winners.
Eintracht Frankfurt
Frankfurt impressed in the first round of the DFB-Pokal with a 4-0 romp over Magdeburg, as trainer Oliver Glasner leads the club into a Champions League season. Frankfurt are known to play well against Bayern, as a certain Europa League hero will have his hands full in defense.
A guy by the name of Frankfurt legend Kevin Trapp.
Eintracht brought in some bargain signings over the summer including Mario Götze from PSV, who will most likely feature in the starting lineup and Lucas Alario from Leverkusen. However, transfer rumors continue to swirl around the club, but Filip Kostić and Evan Ndicka are still around (for the time being).
Expect lots of runs from Kostić and speedster Ansgar Knauff, who are both so difficult to contain. Glasner stated in his press conference that, "Playing in the opening game in prime time against the reigning German champions, what more could you want?"
Frankfurt have a multitude of options in the midfield and while Djibril Sow is likely to start, Sebastian Rode and Kristijan Jakić should also see significant playing time. Glasner added that, "There'll be white smoke on Friday...we'll do all we can to start the season with a win."
Team News
Jérôme Onguéné is out due to injury while Hrvoje Smolcic's suspension carries over to Germany after his nine yellow cards in Croatia last season. Right-Back Aurélio Buta is also still recovering from knee surgery.
Bayern Munich
For the fist time in what seems like forever, a bit of mystery actually surrounds this Bayern squad after an extremely busy summer. It will be intriguing to see how Sadio Mané and Matthijs de Ligt fair in their maiden Bundesliga contest, or whether Noussair Mazraoui plays any role on Matchday 1. What’s guaranteed is that at least one of Bayern’s four superb center-backs will be left as an unhappy camper.
Marcel Sabitzer will slide into midfield after his excellent showing in the Supercup against RB Leipzig. Bayern have an array of options up front, as Julian Nagelsmann has his hands full in trying to keep everyone happy. He has implemented a new points-based training regimen, in which those who train best will receive a starting nod.
In his press conference, Nagelsmann said, "It's not easy to play in Frankfurt. I don't know 100% what their squad will look like. Frankfurt are a strong team with a passionate fan base." On Mario Götze, Nagelsmann added that, "He sent me very interesting podcast tips...I wish him to play well, but maybe not outstanding (tomorrow)."
It probably wouldn’t hurt to speculate that the entire country of Senegal will have their eyes on Mané, who will have many opportunities to score his first Bundesliga goal. Expect chaos in this opening affair.
Team News
Nagelsmann assumes that Manuel Neuer will be able to play in Friday's contest after coming down with a stomach bug, although he did not participate in Thursday's training session. Leon Goretzka and Eric Choupo-Moting are definitely out due to injuries. The manager still hasn't confirmed whether Jamal Musiala or Leroy Sané will start, but it's likely that de Ligt will begin the game on the bench.