Fortunes can change very quickly in football. Two weeks ago, Eintracht went into their match against Royal Antwerp without a win in 2021/22, having lost two and drawn six of their eight games in all competitions up to then.
However, after following up a last-gasp 1-0 victory in Belgium with a stunning 2-1 success at Bayern Munich, it’s now turned into an eight-match unbeaten run going into Saturday’s match at home to Hertha BSC.
There has also been plenty of good news on the personnel front during the international break, with Sebastian Rode returning to first-team training this week and Erik Durm, Makoto Hasebe and Evan Ndicka also back in the thick of things.
The return of the Prince
Ex-Eintracht player Kevin-Prince Boateng returns to his former stomping ground for the first time on Saturday. The midfielder joined Italian side Sassuolo following the Eagles’ DFB Cup triumph in 2018 before a brief loan spell with Barcelona, during which he won the La Liga title. This summer, the 34-year-old moved to Berlin to link up with Fredi Bobic, who returned to his adopted home in June after five successful years as the Eagles’ board member for sport.
Hertha currently sit just behind Eintracht in 14th place, with six points from their seven league games so far. They suffered their fifth defeat of the season last time out, losing 2-1 at home to SC Freiburg, but the Eagles are in no mood to underestimate their opponents this weekend.
The 40,000 fans allowed into Deutsche Bank Park on Saturday will be desperate to roar Oliver Glasner’s side on to their first home victory of the campaign.
Match info
Kick-off: Saturday 16 October 2021 15:30 CEST, Matchday 8.
Stadium: Deutsche Bank Park, Frankfurt am Main.
