Croatia
Indonesia
Nigeria
South Africa

Frankfurtvs.RFS

sportsmole.co.uk, 22 October 2024, 12:59
Striving to keep their unbeaten record in the League Phase intact, Eintracht Frankfurt will host Rigas Futbola Skola at Deutsche Bank Park in the Europa League on Thursday night.

Die Adler have stuttered in the Bundesliga since their last continental match, and similar can be said of RFS, who are struggling with inconsistency on the domestic scene.

Match preview

Since their last fixture in the revamped League Phase of the 2024-25 Europa League, Eintracht Frankfurt have collected just the single point from two Bundesliga matches, drawing 3-3 with Bayern Munich prior to the international break on October 6 before losing at the home of Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday afternoon.

Continuing his brilliant goalscoring form at the beginning of this season, Omar Marmoush opened the scoring for Die Adler at the BayArena on the weekend, however the German champions managed to stage a comeback courtesy of efforts from Robert Andrich and Nigerian forward Victor Boniface.

After seven matches of the top-flight campaign, Eintracht Frankfurt are currently occupying sixth position in the Bundesliga table, level on points with Borussia Dortmund in seventh and four behind current pacesetters in the form of Vincent Kompany's Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig.

Die Adler have made a steady start on their quest to reclaim the Europa League crown after continental glory over Rangers in the final in 2022, with the German giants drawing 3-3 with Viktoria Plzen of Czech Republic on September 26 before winning 3-1 away at Besiktas earlier this month.

Unsurprisingly, Rigas Futbola Skola have struggled during the opening weeks of the League Phase in this season's Europa League, with the Latvian champions collecting just the single point from their first two matches in UEFA's second-tier club competition in the 2024-25 schedule.

That being said, RFS managed a marvellous share of the spoils versus a Turkish powerhouse last time out on the continent, with goals either side of the half-time break from Janis Ikaunieks and Lasha Odisharia securing a 2-2 draw at home against Galatasary on October 3.

Since that stellar result at the expense of Okan Buruk's troops, RFS have earned six points from three matches in the Latvian Virsliga, with their most recent contest ending in a 4-1 battering of relegation-threatened FK Tukums 2000 on Sunday afternoon at LNK Sporta Parks.

Taking charge of Thursday's visitors to Frankfurt in March 2020, Viktors Morozs have enjoyed a success-laden spell at the reins of RFS, who have won 130 and lost just 27 of their 194 matches across all competitions with the forward-thinking 44-year-old in the managerial hotseat.

Eintracht Frankfurt Europa League form:

D

W

Eintracht Frankfurt form (all competitions):

W

D

W

W

D

L

Rigas Futbola Skola Europa League form:

Team News

Eintracht Frankfurt remain without the services of midfielder Mehdi Loune, with the 20-year-old sidelined until next month due to a cruciate ligament injury.

Die Alder are also unable to call upon the talents of Oscar Hojlund, who featured in just one Bundesliga match at the beginning of the season before suffering a broken ankle.

The hosts' options in the middle of the park are further reduced by the illness of Ansgar Knauff, who is battling a cold picked up whilst on international duty for Germany Under-21s.

A prolific goalscorer for RFS in Virsliga during 2024, Ismael Diomande is unlikely to feature in Europe this season because of a serious ligament injury.

Alfusainey Jatta is yet to play for the Latvians in the Europa League this campaign but could be back for the final League Phase matches in January.

Eintracht Frankfurt possible starting lineup:

Trapp; Kristensen, Koch, Theate, Nkounkou; Ebimbe, Tuta, Larsson, Gotze; Etikike, Marmoush

Rigas Futbola Skola possible starting lineup:

Ondoa; Savalneiks, Prenga, Lipuscek, Njie; Markhiev, Panic, Odisharia, Ikaunieks, Kouadio; Kigurs

We say: Eintracht Frankfurt 3-0 Rigas Futbola Skola

After testing their Bundesliga credentials against Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen over recent weeks, Eintracht Frankfurt should be ready to put RFS to the sword on Thursday night.

Previews by email

Top News

23 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United transfer target Randal Kolo Muani is very likely to leave Paris Saint-Germain in the January transfer window, according to reports. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester City have reportedly set their sights on West Ham United attacker Mohammed Kudus, with Pep Guardiola keen to strengthen his struggling squad. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United are reportedly set to rival Arsenal for the signature of Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic in the summer of 2025. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk The final Premier League gameweek before Christmas appropriately served up some crackers, including a festive feast of goals in North London, where Liverpool ran riot in an exhilarating 6-3 win over Tottenham Hotspur. 22 December 2024 talksport.com Even when the pulse settled a little after this compellingspectacle it was still difficult to know quite where to start todissect this nine-goal thriller. 22 December 2024 talksport.com Ange Postecoglou cut an irritated figure as he claimed he's going to stop answering questions about Tottenham's tactics. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Tottenham Hotspur have supposedly expressed an interest in signing Borussia Dortmund attacker Julian Brandt next month. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool's Mohamed Salah refused to give anything away when asked whether he could break Ian Rush's all-time goalscoring record after the Reds' remarkable 6-3 win over Tottenham Hotspur. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool's astonishing 6-3 Premier League win over Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday evening saw a multitude of records and achievements surpassed, as the Reds moved four points clear at the top of the table. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Al-Ahli have reportedly emerged as the favourites to sign Marcus Rashford, with the Manchester United attacker widely expected to be on the move during the January transfer window. 22 December 2024 talksport.com Everton have become surprise leaders in one statistic across Europe thanks to their draw at home to Chelsea. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool will spend Christmas Day four points clear at the top of the Premier League table thanks to a breathtaking 6-3 win over Tottenham Hotspur in North London. 22 December 2024 talksport.com Kylian Mbappe struck a landmark effort to put himself firmly among Real Madrid's elite. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca has insisted that he is "absolutely happy" with his side's goalless draw at Everton on Sunday. 22 December 2024 talksport.com If you thought Mohamed Salah couldn't set yet another record, think again. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk For a second time in successive Gulf Cup competitions, The United Arab Emirates and Kuwait will meet in the group stage, with this upcoming game taking place on Tuesday at Jaber Al-Amad International Stadium in Kuwait City. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Bayer Leverkusen defender Jeremie Frimpong is supposedly not a 'concrete target' for Liverpool amid speculation over Trent Alexander-Arnold's future. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Real Madrid moved into second spot in the La Liga table courtesy of a 4-2 success over Sevilla in Sunday afternoon's contest at Bernabeu, with Los Blancos ending 2024 on a high note. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Oman and Qatar will compete in the Gulf Cup for the first time in over a decade on Tuesday at Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium, each seeking their first victory in this edition of the tournament. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona have reportedly received offers from three clubs for defender Eric Garcia, but the player is pushing against a move away from Catalonia during the January transfer window. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United have broken two unwanted club Premier League records in their humiliating 3-0 home defeat to Bournemouth. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk New Wolverhampton Wanderers' boss Vitor Pereira earned three points when his side comfortably beat Ruud van Nistelrooy's Leicester City 3-0 away from home on Sunday afternoon in the Premier League. 22 December 2024 talksport.com Aaron Ramsdale was spotted wearing a modified goalkeeper glove in Southampton's Premier League clash at Fulham. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Chelsea squandered the chance to go top of the Premier League table for a couple of hours as Everton held the Blues to a goalless stalemate at Goodison Park. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Djed Spence has been named in the Tottenham Hotspur starting XI for their Premier League clash with Liverpool, while Luis Diaz and Cody Gakpo get the nod up front for the visitors. 22 December 2024 talksport.com Manchester United were beaten 3-0 by Bournemouth in a defeat that saw Ruben Amorim's side achieve an unwanted record. 22 December 2024 talksport.com Gary Neville believes that Ruben Amorim will allow Marcus Rashford to leave Manchester United for the sake of 'himself and the club'. 22 December 2024 talksport.com Pep Guardiola isn't immune from the sack at Manchester City having continued their unprecedented and dismal run of form. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United have reportedly earmarked Leeds United shot-stopper Illan Meslier as one of two goalkeeper targets ahead of the January transfer window. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Tottenham Hotspur have reportedly identified Burnley's James Trafford as their top transfer target for the January transfer window.