RB Leipzig v Eintracht Frankfurt  – Preview, Predictions and Best Bets

RB Leipzig face Eintracht Frankfurt in the DFB Pokal final on Saturday in Berlin. The Red Bulls beat Dortmund and Freiburg to reach this showpiece and have won nine of their last 10 matches. Frankfurt coach Oliver Glasner will oversee his final match in charge and will want to add this Cup to a Europa League triumph in 2022. RB Leipzig are looking to win this trophy for the second season in a row.

RB Leipzig Form

A very difficult month from early March to early April saw three league defeats and a 7-0 thrashing by Man City for Marco Rose’s side. At that stage, they sat fifth in the table and qualification for the UEFA Champions League was in doubt. They’ve since had an incredible run of nine wins in 10 matches, beginning with a 2-0 home win against Dortmund in the DFB Pokal quarter-final.

Their only loss in this run was a 2-0 defeat at Bayer Leverkusen in late April. Six successive victories have followed including a 5-1 win at Freiburg in the cup semi-final and a 3-1 win at Bayern Munich in the penultimate Bundesliga match as they netted three goals in 23 minutes. The league campaign concluded with a 4-2 home win against Schalke to confirm a third-place finish.

RB Leipzig Team News

Coach Marco Rose remains without long-term injured goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi whilst striker Andre Silva is ruled out with a hip injury. In a big blow, key centre back Josko Gvardiol is suspended after his red card against Freiburg in the semi-final.

There are doubts over central midfielder Konrad Laimer (toe injury) and left winger Dani Olmo has a muscle injury and is touch-and-go to be fit. Dominik Szoboszlai could start if the latter is ruled out. Christopher Nkunku is back after his injury problems and he has five goals in his last six matches. Timo Werner could partner him in attack.

RB Leipzig Motivation

The Red Bulls won their first ever major trophy last year in this competition. They will be eager to retain the DFK Pokal and complete what would be a fine overall season.

Marco Rose’s side are very attacking and will take the game to Eintracht Frankfurt in an attacking 4-4-2 shape.

Eintracht Frankfurt Form

Eintracht Frankfurt finished seventh in the Bundesliga with just 13 wins in 34 matches and 52 goals conceded. A disastrous run of one win in 12 matches in all competitions put paid to any top four hopes and saw them exit the Champions League 5-0 on aggregate to Napoli. Their only win during that streak was a 2-0 win against Union Berlin in the DFK Pokal quarter-finals.

They ended the season in better form once it was announced that the coach would be leaving. A 3-2 win at Stuttgart in the Cup saw them reach the final. They won two of their final three Bundesliga matches to finish above the likes of Wolfsburg and Mainz. They beat the latter 3-0 at home before a 2-2 draw at Schalke. On the final day, they beat Freiburg 2-1 at home having been 1-0 down after 82 minutes.

Eintracht Frankfurt Team News

Central midfielder Sebastian Rode has an ankle injury and is set to miss this match. Another midfielder in Kristjan Jakic has a calf problem and may not make it. Left wingback Philipp Max returned against Freiburg and could start in preference to Christopher Lenz.

Centre back Hrvoje Smolcic has a knee injury and won’t return in time for this match. Striker Lucas Alario is another absentee although he wouldn’t have started. Randal Kolo Muani will lead the line and he has scored 23 goals this season.

Eintracht Frankfurt  Motivation

Frankfurt will go into the Europa Conference League playoffs if they lost this match but a win will see them go directly into the Europa League group stage. That is a big motivation for this match.

They last won the DFB Pokal in 2018 and they lifted the Europa League in 2022. They won’t play an open game but will be pragmatic and defensively solid in a back five when defending.

Key Stats

RB Leipzig have won 9 of their last 10 matches (all competitions)

RB Leipzig have scored 15 goals in their last 5 matches

RB Leipzig’s Nkunku has 5 goals in his last 6 matches

Eintracht have lost just 1 of their last 8 matches vs RB Leipzig (W3, D4)

Eintracht Frankfurt have won just 2 of their last 13 Bundesliga matches

Eintracht’s Kolo Muani has scored 23 goals this season (7 in his last 10)

Verdict

This should be a very good cup final. RB Leipzig are the team in better form and who are more exciting to watch but Eintracht Frankfurt have recent trophies to their name and a good record vs these opponents. The match pits two of Europa’s hottest young forwards against each other in Nkunku and Muani. Both could score in this one with Leipzig favoured to lift the cup again.

Best Bet: RB Leipzig win (90 mins) at 1.71

Value Bet: RB Leipzig win and over 2.5 goals at 2.50

Goalscorers Tip: Nkunku first goalscorer at 4.50 or Muani anytime goalscorer at 3.20

James O'Connor

James is a football analyst who writes about the tactics of the PSL and English Premier League. He holds the UEFA A coaching licence and has previously worked for several clubs in analysis roles.Twitter: https://twitter.com/footy_analysis