Eintracht Frankfurt-Sporting CP is a match valid for the first day of the group stage of the Champions League and is played on Wednesday at 18:45
EINTRACHT FRANKFURT – SPORTING CP
Thanks to their victory in the last Europa League, Eintracht Frankfurt return to play in the continent’s most important event after waiting more than 60 years. Therefore, whatever the outcome of this first part of the season, 2022 will remain an unforgettable year for the fans of the Adlers, who last May secured the second European trophy in their history by beating Rangers on penalties in the Sevilla final. Oliver Glasner’s team, only eleventh in the last Bundesliga, therefore had the privilege of being top of the league when the draw was made. And Lady Luck did not turn her back on them: in addition to Antonio Conte’s Tottenham, favourites for first place, the Germans are likely to be competing for second place with two opponents of the same level such as Sporting CP and Marseille.
Unfortunately for Glasner, Eintracht’s squad has not been disrupted. Yes, one of the most representative and important players such as Filip Kostic, who moved to Juventus, left, but other valuable players arrived, such as striker Kolo Muani and some in search of a revival such as Gotze. Yet the start was not the easiest: having lost the European Super Cup to Real Madrid in Helsinki, in the championship the Adlers barely picked up two points in the first three days, debuting with a memorable drubbing (1-6) against champions Bayern Munich. It was only in the last few games that they managed to reverse the trend: the attack woke up, smashing eight goals in total against Werder Bremen (3-4) and Leipzig (4-0).
For Ruben Amorim’s Sporting, on the other hand, it was their second consecutive participation in the Champions League, having finished second in the last Primeira Liga. Ruben Amorim’s side reached the round of 16 last time out at the expense of top-ranked Borussia Dortmund. They will try again this time, but it must be borne in mind that in their first outings the green-and-whites only partially impressed. On Friday they came back to win against Estoril but were coming off two ugly defeats against Porto and Chaves, in which they conceded five goals without scoring any. The summit, meanwhile, is already eight points away
St. Juste
The Prediction
In the last two matches, Eintracht Frankfurt seem to have unblocked and, considering the home factor, they will be slightly favoured over Sporting, who are less convincing than the Germans in this first part of the season. It will be a high-scoring affair in any case, with two teams facing each other with some problems in containment.
Eintracht Frankfurt v Sporting CP (Eintracht Frankfurt v Sporting CP) matchday squad
- EINTRACHT FRANKFURT (4-2-3-1): Trapp; Jakić, Tuta, N’Dicka, Lenz; Dina Ebimbe, Sow; Lindstrøm, Götze, Kamada; Kolo Muani.
- SPORTING CP (3-4-3): Adán; St. Juste, Coates, Reis; Pedro Porro, Ugarte, Morita, Nuno Santos; Pedro Gonçalves, Edwards, Francisco Trincão.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 2-1
