Eintracht Frankfurt travel to Antonio Conte’s Napoli on Matchday four of the Champions League, with both teams looking to reignite their European campaigns which began relatively strongly but have since faltered.
After Eintracht’s opening day 5-1 thrashing of Galatasaray, they have been on the wrong end of the same scoreline twice – against Atletico Madrid and Liverpool. Napoli, meanwhile, were beaten by Manchester City, then overcame Sporting CP 2-1 at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona before succumbing to a shock 6-2 thrashing at the hands of PSV Eindhoven.
With just one win in their last seven in all competitions, Dino Toppmöller’s side are desperate to get back to winning ways. However, it will not be an easy task with Conte’s team unbeaten at home thus far this season.
Adding to the severity of the task for the Germans is the absence of their travelling supporters, with UEFA having barred Eintracht fans from travelling to Italy for the clash, following clashes between fans the last time the two clubs met in 2023.
Napoli come into this game with a few key injuries that could prove costly for the Italian champions. Kevin de Bruyne and goalkeeper Alex Meret are both sidelined with recent injuries, as well as Romelu Lukaku who has been out since August. Billy Gilmour is also a doubt, having been substituted during the weekend’s 0-0 draw with Como.
Fellow Scotsman and last season’s Serie A MVP, Scott McTominay, will provide the biggest threat for Gli Azzurri, having become somewhat of an icon at the club since his move from Manchester United a year ago.
Frankfurt will be without Can Uzun, who has established himself as one of the clubs most important players this season. Also still sidelined is Oscar Højlund, younger brother of Napoli striker Rasmus.
Uzun is expected to be replaced by experienced midfielder Mario Götze, who will be looking to supply the Bundesliga’s second-highest scorer this season, Jonathan Burkardt.
With both sides prone to conceding goals yet equally capable of finding the net, predicting the outcome of this clash proves almost impossible.
Napoli vs Eintracht Frankfurt Predicted XIs
Napoli: Vanja Milinković-Savić – Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Amir Rrahmani, Alessandro Buongiorno, Leonardo Spinazzola – Andre-Frank Anguissa, Stanislav Lobotka, Scott McTominay – Matteo Politano, Rasmus Højlund, David Neres
Eintracht Frankfurt: Michael Zetterer – Rasmus Kristensen, Robin Koch, Arthur Theate – Ritsu Doan, Hugo Larsson, Farès Chaïbi, Nathaniel Brown, Mario Götze – Ansgar Knauff, Jonathan Burkardt
GGFN | Harry Good
