Eintracht Frankfurt vs Plzen prediction: EUROPE: Europa League – League phase betting tips on match 2024-09-25 19:00.
[p]For the first time since winning the entire tournament in 2021/22, Eintracht Frankfurt are back in the UEFA Europa League (UEL) and they start their European campaign on the back of three straight Bundesliga victories. They saw off Borussia Mönchengladbach 2-0 at the weekend, which should boost their confidence even further as they prepare to take on Czech outfit Viktoria PlzeĆ for the first time.[/p]
[p]Unsurprisingly given their recent success in this tournament, the Germans havenât lost a UEL home game since March 2020 (W2, D4) whilst theyâve additionally only lost two competitive games at Deutsche Bank Park this calendar year (W5, D5). But on a cautionary note, theyâve only won one of their last three opening European group games on home soil (D1, L1), so a fast start is still far from guaranteed.[/p]
[p]Potentially well placed to take advantage of any sluggishness, PlzeĆ have already won four qualifying games to reach the UEL league phase, all of them by one-goal margins with the winner arriving after half-time. Theyâre also currently occupying third place in the Czech First League behind Slavia and Sparta Prague after losing 3-0 to the former on Saturday. [/p]
[p]While the step up from the UEFA Europa Conference League, where they reached the quarter-finals last term, is challenging enough, the six-time Czech champions have a terrible record against German clubs, against whom theyâre still winless in Europe (D1, L7). Ominously, that includes losing all four games as the away side while conceding at least three times in the process![/p]
[p]Players to watch: After opening the scoring against Gladbach on Saturday, Frankfurtâs Hugo Larsson has now netted all four of his goals for the club between the 25th and 40th minute – all also coming at home and contributing to victories. Often dangerous a little later on, PlzeĆâs Pavel Ć ulc has scored five times across eight league appearances this term, the last four of which have all come between the 40th and 65th minute.[/p]
[p]Hot streak: Frankfurt have received fewer than three yellow cards in all five of their competitive games this season (W4, L1). [/p]
[p][i]Written by John Pennington[/i][/p]