Barcelona vs Eintracht Frankfurt Preview

After narrowly defeating Levante in the Spanish La Liga over the weekend, Barcelona will return to intercontinental action this Thursday as they welcome Eintracht Frankfurt to the Camp Nou for the second leg of their UEFA Europa League tie.

The Catalan giants extended their unbeaten run to 15 games in all competitions (W11, D4) when they beat struggling Levante 3-2 last Sunday.

That win kept their place at the summit of La Liga behind Real Madrid and gives them the breathing space they need for this game as the race for a top-four finish heats up in La Liga.

Meanwhile, they were held to a 1-1 draw in the first leg of this fixture with Ferran Torres restoring parity after Ansgar Knauff had given the hosts the lead.

And so they come into this tie with so much still to play for. Given their history and form, they are the favourites to not just win this tie, but to win the Europa League trophy at the end of the season.

With that tag on them, they will be desperate to get the win needed to push them to the next round.

Meanwhile, Eintracht Frankfurt, who have never lost a two-legged knockout tie against Spanish opponents (W3) have it all to do in this return leg after a scrappy first leg.

The German side are unbeaten in the UEL this season (W4, D5) but are also winless in their last five competitive games (W4, D1).

They come into this tie on the back of a 2-1 loss to Freiburg in the German Bundesliga – a bad way to prepare for a heavyweight clash with one of Europe’s most in-form teams.

And so Oliver Glasner will have to find a better way to win this game and match their semi-final finish in the 2018-19 Europa League.

Given that the bulk of their matches in their recent winless run have come at the Deutsche Bank Park, with the Bundesliga club claiming three wins from four away from home in the 2021-22 Europa League so far, they will fancy their chances of carving their way through the Barcelona back-line.

But while Die Adler have strung together a nine-game unbeaten run against Spanish sides, Barcelona have lost twice at home in 16 meetings with clubs from the Bundesliga.