Augsburg and Eintracht Frankfurt

A place in Europe is potentially on the line as familiar Bundesliga foes Augsburg and Eintracht Frankfurt go head-to-head at the WWK Arena. 

Augsburg’s emergence as one of the Bundesliga’s most formidable teams has been impressive, with a 3-1 win at Bochum last time out extending their superb run to just one defeat in 13 league games (W7, D5). Starting the round only three points off the top six, Jess Thorup’s men remain in the hunt for a potential European berth, backed by their joint-best points tally at this stage of a Bundesliga season. Yet, their only defeat in that stretch came in their last home outing against runaway leaders Bayern Munich, knocking them down from a four-game unbeaten streak at the WWK Arena (W2, D2), which included three clean sheets. However, bouncing back against Frankfurt won’t be simple, as Augsburg have claimed just one win across the last ten H2Hs (D4, L5).

If there was a time for Augsburg to defy that unwanted trend, it’s now, with Eintracht Frankfurt taking this trip after Tottenham halted Die Adler’s Europa League run in the quarter-finals, courtesy of a 1-0 home defeat during midweek. Still, the visitors enter this round in third place – a position they’ve not held this late in a Bundesliga season since 1993/94. In search of good omens, the last manager to guide Frankfurt to this point tally was current boss Dino Toppmoller’s father, Klaus. However, Die Adler haven’t finished in the Bundesliga top three since 1992/93. Much will depend on improving their road form after only winning twice across their last eight away fixtures in all competitions (D3, L3).