A few members of the Eintracht squad may be getting a sense of déjà vu at the moment. It’s almost three years to the day since the Eagles played Bayer 04 Leverkusen away in between the two legs of their UEFA Europa League semi-final against Chelsea. By half-time they were already 6-1 down, which was how it finished. Precisely 1,093 days later, they’ll be hoping for a much happier outcome from their visit to the BayArena.
Landmark for Glasner
For coach Oliver Glasner, Monday evening’s meeting will be a particularly special match. It will be the Austrian’s 100th game in the dugout in the Bundesliga, as he prepares his charges for what will certainly be a tough task.
Leverkusen are third in the table and are also the third highest-scoring side in the league. Last weekend’s 4-1 win at Greuther Fürth was already the eighth time that the Werkself have scored four or more goals in a match this season – a league best.
Goals guaranteed
That said, experience suggests that Frankfurt enjoy playing against technically stronger sides more than against opponents who sit deep and let the Hessians have the ball. A perfect example of this is the reverse fixture, when the Eagles claimed their biggest win of the campaign with a 5-2 success. Nevertheless, Glasner’s men will need to be prepared for a side who have good defensive cover against the counter, as Bayer have only conceded one on the break this season.
Incidentally, there has never been a 0-0 draw between these two teams in 73 Bundesliga encounters. No other fixture has been played as often without there being a goalless draw.
Match info
Kick-off: Monday 2 May, 20:30, Bundesliga, Matchday 32
Stadium: BayArena, Leverkusen
