Eintracht Frankfurt scouting report: How good are Tottenham opponents?

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1-1 draw in first leg 

©TM/IMAGO

Tottenham have endured another miserable Premier League season with the North London club languishing in 14th position, but the Europa League could provide a silver lining. Ange Postecoglou is under significant pressure but winning their first silverware since the League Cup in 2008 would ultimately represent a successful season. But after edging past AZ Alkmaar in the last round, Tottenham face Bundesliga high-flyers Eintracht Frankfurt in the quarter-finals.

Frankfurt famously won the competition in 2022, beating Rangers in the final and they’ll be confident of progressing past Spurs. Despite losing star play Omar Marmoush to Manchester City in January, Frankfurt currently sit third in the Bundesliga and are battling to secure Champions League football next season. Tottenham battled back to secure a 1-1 draw in the first leg in North London last Thursday but Frankfurt hold the advantage on home soil for the second leg. We’ve received the lowdown on Frankfurt from Transfermarkt’s Bundesliga expert, Tobias Picker.

How good have Frankfurt been this season?

After finishing an impressive 6th in the Bundesliga last season, Frankfurt have improved this season under the guidance of highly-rated manager Dino Toppmoller. Frankfurt don’t possess the financial resources of Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig or Bayer Leverkusen but they’ve developed a reputation for nurturing talented attacking talent across the last few years. There’s currently seven German clubs competing for two Champions League places with Frankfurt third on 48 points, but Stuggart in ninth are only eight points behind with six games remaining.

“The current strong third place actually reflects more the inconsistency of their rivals,” Picker said. “Nevertheless, Frankfurt still has a good chance of qualifying for the Champions League — which would be a tremendous success given the circumstances at the start of the season.”

Who is Frankfurt’s most dangerous player?

Marmoush was undoubtedly Frankfurt’s star performer with 15 league goals before Manchester City splashed €75 million to sign the Egyptian in January. Frankfurt, however, still have a squad brimming with talent, including Hugo Ekitiké. The French striker joined permanently for €16.5m in the summer from PSG but his market value increased by +€35m across the campaign to €55m. German football expert Picker, however, has identified a household name as a Frankfurt player that Tottenham will need to be wary of.

“At the moment, Mario Götze is definitely an important factor,” he added, “Not least in the round of 16 against Ajax, he steered the game and, now firmly occupying the number ten role if possible, showcased his class – even apart from his three goals in March. A big problem now appears to be the wings, especially after the injury of Ansgar Knauff that led to Götze having to cover the right wing. Obviously, with him on the right, missing in the central, Frankfurt struggles more.”

What are Frankfurt’s strengths and weaknesses?

“The significant drop in attacking threat – as seen most recently in the 2-0 defeat in Bremen – is still clearly a symptom of Marmoush’s departure,” Picker added. “Until his move to Manchester, Frankfurt averaged 2.2 goals per game. Afterwards, that number dropped to just 1.3, along with a fairly average points tally. Frankfurt has also been quite inconsistent this season, although they’ve had to make some fundamental changes in key positions.

“Young goalkeeper Kauã Santos was thrown in at the deep end, Marmoush was lost in the transfer market, and Ekitike hasn’t been able to replace the Egyptians goal threat in the way the club had surely hoped. Nevertheless, they currently sit third in the league – an unexpectedly strong position.” While Frankfurt have clear weaknesses in their squad, Tottenham will have to be on top form to progress past the Bundesliga side.