Matches of the Week: Eintracht Frankfurt vs. Bayer Leverkusen - a podcast by noreply@blogger.com (The Hat Trick)

The winter break for the Bundesliga is slowly approaching and both Eintracht Frankfurt and Bayer Leverkusen are catching fire at the right time. The teams will not only be battling for a potential Europa League spot, but to keep their respective unbeaten runs alive. Bayer Leverkusen are currently holding on to a seven game unbeaten run, currently sitting at 9th in the table. Frankfurt has a six game unbeaten run, currently sitting at 7th place in the table, and only one point away from an automatic Europa League spot. We will be looking at each team closely to see who has the upper hand in this Match of the Week!

Just two seasons ago, Eintracht Frankfurt were expecting to be relegated, in an attempt to save their save their club, owner Peter Fischer hired former Croatia manager Niko Kovac in March. Kovac led the Eagles out of relegation, however an unfortunate loss to Werder Bremen, sent them to the relegation playoff. Kovac was able to lead his side to a 2-1 aggregate victory over Nuremberg. The following seasons have been nothing but success for their standards, with an 11th place finish last season and performing even better this season. However, in recent matches, Frankfurt have suffered some major injuries, mainly captain Alexander Meier, Marco Fabian and Timothy Chandler. The side still has gone on a six game unbeaten streak in the Bundesliga, with youngster Marius Wolf and Ante Rebic leading the charge. Veteran Kevin-Prince Boateng has also played a crucial role in securing Eintracht's midfield. The major factor for prohibiting them from getting into the Europa League will be their squad depth, with not many replacements for midfield starters Boateng and Stendera. Eintracht's defense has proven to be the best in the league, conceding the 2nd lowest amount with 12 goals allowed in 12 games. With big injury to Marco Fabian, Frankfurt's attacking ability has shrunk massively, with scoring the fewest goals in the Bundesliga top half teams (14). We will see if young hero Wolf can save the day by providing crucial chances for the Golden Eagles.

In comparisons to other teams in the Bundesliga, Bayer Leverkusen has strong squad depth and enough talent to compete with top-tier Bundesliga teams, such as RB Leipzig and Dortmund. Falling only short of super clubs Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich, Leverkusen has a whopping 25 goals in league play. With team top goalscorer Kevin Volland (7) up top and new star Leon Bailey and young German talent Julian Brandt on the wings, Bayer have plenty of chances in front of their opposition's net. What the team fails to succeed at is protect their own net, allowing in 18 goals, way too many for a potential Europa League side. Goalkeeper Bernd Leno will be looking to improve his clean sheet record, only having 2 in his 12 league appearances. We can expect Bayer will be playing the same formation following their 2-2 draw with RB Leipzig. They will have center-backs Bender and Wendell, with Jonathan Tah holding the middle defensive position. Sitting in front of the defense, we can see the two central midfielders Kohr and Aránguiz starting the attacking moves off, and outside wingers Bailey and Mehmedi running down the pitch. Starting the creative moves will be star Julian Brandt and Kai Havertz, who is currently sitting with 3 assists, tied for 8th in the Bundesliga. Bayer Leverkusen clearly has the tools needed to score goals, but will be in need of strong defensive plays in order to keep their unbeaten run alive.

With such an important game for both of these sides, the winner will surely be on the road to an expected Europa League spot. While Eintracht Frankfurt have the second fewest goals allowed, showing their defense is capable of winning matches for their squad, they do lack a quality striker, who can push their team in important situations. Leverkusen, with multitude of goals in the Bundesliga, have shown their attacking creativity in front of the net, yet signs of weakness through their central defense. Players for both teams such as Frankfurt's Marius Wolf and Leverkusen's Kevin Volland will have a high chance of being their respective team's Man of the Match. We predict that this battle of offense and defense will end in favor of the away team, with a scoreline of 3-2 with Leverkusen taking away all 3 points.

We hope you guys are pumped for this highly contested Bundesliga match, and we will be bringing the "Bundesliga Sum-Up" to you Sunday, talking about all 9 fixtures.

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