When Eintracht welcomes PAOK Saloniki in the Conference League this Thursday (9 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the Conference League and on RTL), it will be freezing cold for the first time this football season. The forecast is for minus one degree in Frankfurt in the evening.
The duel with the Greeks should be a warming spectacle on the pitch and, above all, a fair showdown in front of a good 57,000 spectators in the Waldstadion. Because Dino Toppmöller said immediately after the 1-2 defeat in the first meeting at the beginning of October that PAOK could “prepare for a hot dance”. “We will approach the game with maximum energy,” announced the Eintracht coach. His tone was combative but matter-of-fact – even though things had been heated before.
After Saloniki’s winning goal in stoppage time and the final whistle that followed shortly afterwards, emotions boiled over. There was a pack formation with shoving and mutual loud accusations, in which Toppmöller was not involved. The bottom line was that goalkeeper Kevin Trapp was shown a red card, although he was not aware of any guilt. These discrepancies have now been resolved. “It’s still a bit in the back of my mind what happened. But it’s not about any kind of revenge,” emphasized Toppmöller on Wednesday. Rather, it is important to keep a cool head.
Especially in view of the serious riots last Saturday at the home game against VfB Stuttgart (1:2), a football festival with mutual respect on the international stage would be very welcome by all sides. “I can only appeal: We all want a peaceful atmosphere and support from the spectators. We want to repay it with a good performance,” said Toppmöller. He expressly wished “all the people” who suffered injuries in the clashes in front of Block 40 a “get well soon”.
Eintracht wants to avoid being in the draw
There’s a lot at stake for the people of Frankfurt on the last day of November. They will also be represented in the third highest European competition in the new year, that much is certain. But you can save yourself an additional task. Only the group winner qualifies directly for the round of 16, which will take place on March 7th and 14th. If the Frankfurt team, who are currently one point behind league leaders PAOK, are successful against the Greeks, they would have put themselves in a good starting position for the final encounter on December 14th away against Aberdeen in order to reach first place in Group G.
However, if the Hessians remained second in the final standings, they would be part of the round of 16, with match days scheduled for February 15th and 22nd. A third place in the Europa League would be drawn for them in Nyon on December 18th. Eintracht wants to avoid being in the draw. “We know the importance of the game,” said Toppmöller. “We really want to win it and be in first place. We want to have our fate in our own hands.”
The Frankfurt team, who are still active in all three possible competitions, already have enough to do. Before the short winter break this time, they will be challenged six times after this Thursday until shortly before Christmas: four times in the Bundesliga (Augsburg, Bayern Munich, Leverkusen and Mönchengladbach), in the DFB Cup (at Bayern conquerors Saarbrücken) and in Scotland at the end of the group phase . The start of the second half of the game with the last first division game will take place on Saturday, January 13th at 3:30 p.m. away against Leipzig. The Hessians will forego a training camp during the winter break for scheduling reasons.
After the first Bundesliga home defeat in around a year with 15 games unbeaten, it is essential for Eintracht to gain new confidence in their own abilities with a win over PAOK. She needs to improve, especially on defense. Before the game against Dortmund (3:3) on October 29th, the Hessians had only conceded six goals in eight games. Bearing in mind the BVB encounter, there were seven games in four games. “Both goals against Stuttgart had to be defended,” said sports director Markus Krösche and called for “the mistakes to be minimized.”
Matthias Trautsch Published/Updated: Recommendations: 16 Marc Heinrich and Jan Ehrhardt, Frankfurt Published/Updated: Recommendations: 12 Daniel Schleidt Published/Updated: Recommendations: 12
One reason for the recent loss of stability is the absence of Robin Koch due to injury. The defense chief was unable to demonstrate his leadership qualities for three weeks due to a torn muscle fiber. Without him, the defense’s duel ratings have deteriorated significantly. His central defender colleagues Tuta and Willian Pacho lost their usual security in some situations.
Now the 27-year-old Koch is taking part in team training again. He could make his comeback this Sunday (7.30 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the Bundesliga and on DAZN) in Augsburg. “We are cautiously optimistic that Robin can be part of the squad again.” Before that, he will complete an intensive individual session, “let’s see how he copes,” said Toppmöller. It’s supposed to get even colder in Augsburg: minus eight degrees.
