Eintracht Frankfurt begin their Europa League campaign with a home fixture at Deutsche Bank Park against Viktoria Plzen on Thursday.
The 2022 winners have started their Bundesliga season in commendable form and seek to carry that into their midweek match, keen to begin positively in the revamped league format.
Match preview
Only Borussia Dortmund have had the better of Frankfurt in the 2024-25 season, with Dino Toppmoller's team losing 2-0 in North Rhine-Westphalia in the penultimate weekend in August.
Since that false start in the Bundesliga, Die Adler have notched three wins on the trot, beating Hoffenheim, Wolfsburg and Borussia Monchengladbach to rise to fourth in the standings, level with Bayer Leverkusen and Freiburg on nine points after four league fixtures.
Including their 4-1 DFB-Pokal win over Eintracht Braunschweig before the commencement of the league campaign, the Europa League winners in 2022 have notched four victories in five matches in all competitions heading into Thursday night, and they seek to make that five wins in six.
Doubly encouraging for the home supporters was the clean sheet in the 2-0 triumph over Gladbach at the weekend, the first shutout recorded by Toppmoller's troops at the fifth time of asking.
Back in the competition they won under Oliver Glasner two years back, Frankfurt head into their first of eight fixtures in the new format aiming to extend their 13-game undefeated streak at Plzen's expense.
Unlike their German hosts, the Czechia side are two months into the 24-25 season, having started their domestic league in July and needed to come through Europa League qualifying to reach the competition's league phase.
However, an 11-match undefeated start in all competitions hit a snag in the lead-up to this week's continental match when they were beaten 3-0 at Slavia Prague last weekend.
Miroslav Koubek will hope that the reverse was nothing but a bump in the road, as his side aim for a positive result to start this season's European campaign. However, the six-time Czechia champions must rewrite history in Hesse to bounce back from September 21's league defeat.
Plzen's wretched away record against German opponents reads seven losses and a draw in their last eight, with 26 goals conceded by the Czech outfit in that period.
The travelling fans will worry more when considering their club's road record on the continent, where one victory has been achieved in the past 13 matches — three draws, nine defeats — with the club's last road success a 2-0 triumph at Hapoel Be'er Sheva in December 2017.
Ending their seven-year wait for a road win on the continent is already daunting enough, but they must overcome an in-form opponent to halt that miserable streak.
Team News
Although Mario Gotze is doubtful due to illness, Frankfurt are not expected to have Kevin Trapp (hip), Oscar Hojlund (ankle) and Mehdi Loune available midweek.
After firing blanks at Dortmund, Omar Marmoush has netted four times in Die Adler's next three games, and the forward hopes to carry his domestic form into European competition.
Having been involved in eight goals (two goals, six assists) in the German club's Conference League campaign last term, Fares Chaibi seeks to start positively in a superior continental competition.
Plzen have three reported absentees due to knee issues, with Jan Sykora, Christophe Kabongo and Rafiu Durosinmi unlikely to play any part in Hesse.
Despite failing to find the net since mid-August, Daniel Vasulin's exploits in Europa League qualifying saw him notch two goals across two qualifying rounds, and the attacker aims to be pivotal in the competition proper.
Eintracht Frankfurt possible starting lineup:
Santos; Kristensen, Tuta, Koch, Theate; Knauff, Shkiri, Larsson, Chaibi; Ekitike, Marmoush
Viktoria Plzen possible starting lineup:
Tvrdon; Dweh, Markovic, Jamelka; Kopic, Kalvach, Cerv, Cadu; Jirka, Sulc, Adu
We say: Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0 Viktoria Plzen
Frankfurt are the superior side heading into Thursday night, and we are backing the in-form Bundesliga club to notch a routine victory over a Plzen side that have typically struggled on their travels in Europe.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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