Eintracht Frankfurt vs. Darmstadt preview: Die Lilien back in the top flight
Newly-promoted Darmstadt will kick off their Bundesliga campaign with a daunting trip to Deutsche Bank Park for Sunday's meeting with Eintracht Frankfurt.
Eintracht Frankfurt
Frankfurt are going into the 2023-24 Bundesliga season with a new manager in the hot seat. Julian Nagelsmann’s former assistant coach Dino Toppmöller has replaced Oliver Glasner, who missed out on the chance of ending his tenure with a cup win. Frankfurt’s defeat to RB Leipzig in the DFB-Pokal finish ensured they had to settle for a place in the Europa Conference League after rounding off the Bundesliga season in seventh place.
Die Adler have been busy assembling their squad in the off-season, signing Éric Junior Dina Ebimbe, Ansgar Knauff and Phillip Max on permanent transfers following their respective loan spells with the club last season. Willian Pacho, Hugo Larsson and Jessic Ngankam are also among those that have joined Die Adler ahead of the 2023-24 campaign.
Frankfurt turned their attention to matters on the pitch last weekend, kicking off Toppmöller’s with a 7-0 victory over Lokomotiv Leipzig in the first round of the Pokal last weekend. They will be looking to claim another win in their league opener, and the hosts can draw inspiration from the 4-2 home victory they recorded over Darmstadt in the last 16 of the Pokal earlier this year.
Team News
The hosts will be unable to call upon Lucas Alario and Mehdi Loune due to injury issues, while Paxten Aaronson is a doubt due to illness.
Darmstadt
After spending six years away from the top flight, Darmstadt are back in the Bundesliga after enjoying a successful 2022-23 campaign, which ultimately resulted in promotion. As a newly-promoted side, Darmstadt’s sole objective will be to avoid an immediate return to the second tier.
Unfortunately for die Lilien, they have lost the services of last season’s top scorer Phillip Tietz, who has completed a move to Augsburg. While Tietz has left the club, Darmstadt have attempted to strengthen their squad with a number of additions. Luca Pfeiffer and Matej Maglica have both arrived on loan from Stuttgart, while Christoph Klarer and Fraser Hornby have signed on permanent deals.
The 2023-24 campaign got off to a disappointing start for Torsten Lieberknecht, as they fell to a surprising 3-0 away defeat to fourth-tier side FC Homburg. They will have to pick themselves from that poor result and produce an improved performance if they are to trouble Frankfurt on Sunday.
Team News
Lieberknecht will have the majority of his squad available to him, although there are doubts over the availability of Matthias Bader and Tobias Kempe.