January 14, 2025. 9:30 p.m. Frankfurt am Main. Deutsche Bank Park Stadium.
Bundesliga 2024-25. 17th day
Suspensions : None
Injured: Orel Amenda – Manuel Gulde, Bruno Ogbusu, Daniel-Kofi Kyeremeh
Uncertain : Omar Marmush – Philipp Linggardt
Eintracht Francfort
In recent years, Frankfurt has benefited from selling its strikers. Names like Sébastien Haller, Luka Jovic and Randal Kolo Muani come to mind. The club received considerable funds for each of them, but none really made an impression at their new clubs. The latest talent to emerge from the ‘Eagles’ nest is Omar Marmush, who was sold to Manchester City for around 80 million euros. It is likely that the upcoming match against Freiburg could be the last for the Egyptian under the management of Dino Toppmüller. Alternatively, he may have already played his last match a few days ago against St. Pauli in Hamburg.
-Eintracht started the new year with an away match against one of the two teams promoted to the Bundesliga. The previous year ended on a disappointing note for the Eagles, who went five games without a win, losing their last three: 2-3 against Lyon in the Europa League, 1-2 away against Leipzig and 1- 3 at home against Mainz. However, against St. Pauli, Toppmüller’s team logically won. A single goal from Omar Marmush was enough to secure three points, allowing Eintracht to maintain their third place in the table, ahead of RB Leipzig thanks to a slight goal difference. Currently, they are five points behind second-place Bayer Leverkusen.
SC Freiburg
Julian Schuster’s team also struggled at the end of 2024. The Red and Whites were eliminated from the DFB-Pokal by third division club Arminia, finding themselves outside of the European qualification places in the league. However, they have since moved back to sixth place, being just three points behind their future opponents. Freiburg opened the new year with a home match against relegation-threatened Holstein Kiel. Everything seemed to be going well for the hosts until a near disaster struck.
With just five minutes to go, Freiburg held a comfortable three-goal lead – an own goal from Holstein midfielder Remberg, followed by a perfectly executed free kick from Christian Günter that caught the opposition goalkeeper off guard , and a goal from Vincenzo Grifo in the 74th minute seemed to put the match away. However, by the 90th minute the score had narrowed to 3-2, and in injury time the visitors wasted several excellent scoring chances. Criticism has been leveled at Freiburg goalkeeper Noah Atubolu, who in my opinion is currently one of the weakest goalkeepers in the league. His mistakes contributed to Holstein’s two goals, but he managed to save his team from losing points in the final seconds.
Projected Lineups: Eintracht vs Freiburg
Eintracht vs Freiburg: Prediction of the author
There is a chance that Omar Marmush won’t play against Freiburg, but the odds are 50-50. If he does take part, he is expected to help the Eagles secure a home win – betting on a goal from the Egyptian appears to be a viable option. However, Eintracht will be favorites during this meeting. Freiburg have struggled away from home of late, while Toppmüller’s side have only lost one home game all season. My prediction leans towards a win for the hosts, but the possibility of a draw should be taken into account. I also expect the two teams to trade goals.