Eintracht Frankfurt vs Chelsea 03/05/19

3 May 2019

Two teams that have had identical returns from their last four competitive outings (W1, D2, L1) go head-to-head this midweek as Eintracht Frankfurt welcome Chelsea to the Commerzbank-Arena for the first leg of their Europa League semi-final tie.

The hosts’ sudden drop-off in form has seen them go from five straight competitive triumphs to just one win in their last five games across all competitions (W1, D2, L2). Importantly, Frankfurt’s only victory in that period has come in the Europa League and has seen them outplayed Benfica 2-0 at this venue in the return leg of their quarter-final tie. Remained as the only Bundesliga side to compete in Europe this term, the Eagles have finished top of their respective EL group with all six wins before dumping out Shakhtar Donetsk, Inter Milan, and Benfica in the knockout stage. Notably, three of Eintracht’s six EL knockout-stage fixtures have featured over 3.5 goals with Adi Hütter’s men netting 2+ match goals four times in that period.

On the other hand, the visitors have gobbled a maximum of six victories in the Europa League knockout stage, with four of those wins saw them beating their rivals to nil. Notably, five of those clashes have featured over 2.5 match goals, with the Blues leading at the half-time break five times across those meetings. Moreover, the Pensioners have so far enjoyed a prolific EL campaign, finishing top of Group L, with a record of five wins and one draw. Interestingly, four of Chelsea’s five EL away wins have been settled by a narrow one-goal margin, with three of those games ending with the same 1-0 scoreline in their favor. An encouraging fact for the traveling side is that Chelsea have picked up ten wins in 19 H2H meetings with the German teams in European competitions (W10, D5, L4), with both of their previous visits to Germany saw the Premier League giants pulling off massive wins – both against Schalke 04 (3-0 and 5-0).