The backdrop
Third in the table on 17 points, Eintracht head into Sunday’s away match at VfB Stuttgart (17:30 CET) brimming with confidence. After watching the Eagles edge past SK Slavia Praha in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday, board member for sport Markus Krösche said: “It was an important win, particularly with Stuttgart coming up on Sunday. Our patterns of play are becoming more and more ingrained.”
It won’t be an easy task on the banks of the river Neckar, though. Not only are Stuttgart unbeaten in 16 home league encounters, they have also scored at least once in all 25 top-flight games on home soil under Sebastian Hoeneß – the best tally among current Bundesliga sides. They may have failed to find the net against Bayer Leverkusen last weekend, but the goalless draw with last season’s double winners was nonetheless a confidence-boosting result.
The Eagles are no less ambitious, however. “We’re facing a huge force,” head coach Dino Toppmöller said at Friday’s pre-match press conference. “[But] we feel ready, we’re confident and we’re determined to get something.”
Frankfurt and Stuttgart relying on youth
Based on the average age of all starting line-ups in the German top flight this season, the two youngest teams in the Bundesliga face each other on Sunday. Eintracht lead the way in that particular category (24.79 years), closely followed by VfB (24.88 years).
