Eintracht Frankfurt v Tottenham: Spurs to be frustrated again

Eintracht Frankfurt v Tottenham
Tuesday 04 October, 20:00
Live on BT Sport

Eagles on a high

The Bundesliga leaders Union Berlin came to Eintracht Frankfurt's Deutsche Bank Park on Saturday with an unbeaten record, but the capital club were chastened by a fine 2-0 win for the hosts.

The outstanding Randal Kolo Muani went on a mazy dribble to set up a superb early opener for Mario Götze, and then Jesper Lindstrom's dazzling solo run and finish doubled the hosts' advantage.

That's the kind of performance that Oliver Glasner's Europa League winners are capable of, but they have also had some wretched displays too.

The Eagles were mauled 3-0 at home by Sporting on Matchday One of the Champions League, and on the opening night of the Bundesliga season they were overwhelmed by Bayern, losing 6-1.

That said, the ship is being turned around - SGE have won four of their last five games in all competitions.

French striker Kolo Muani, who got an assist and was later sent off on Saturday, has been a revelation this term.

He has scored twice and set up five more goals in just eight Bundesliga appearances, and the form of the former Nantes forward has been so good that he earned a call-up to the French national squad for the recent Nations League fixtures.

Kolo Muani will surely start this game, despite his red card on Saturday, but there are slight doubts about Götze, who suffered an ankle injury against Union. Croatian midfield Kristijan Jakic, who missed the weekend win with injury, is still struggling.

Summer signing Jerome Onguene has been kept out with a hip problem, so Frankfurt are a little short of defensive cover, which means 38-year-old iron man Makoto Hasebe may well start again.

Spurs reeling after NLD blow

In the tremendous TV show "The A-Team", the maverick group's leader Hannibal used to say he loved it when a plan came together.

On Saturday against bitter rivals Arsenal, Tottenham found that their plan was undone by a combination of excellence from the Gunners and low-probability moments that went against them, as they tumbled to a 3-1 defeat.

A great example was the opener from Thomas Partey - Spurs had done a good job of blocking Arsenal's penetrative passing into the box, so the Ghanaian midfielder simply smacked a shot into the top corner from the edge of the box.

Antonio Conte's masterplan was further undone by a reckless challenge from right wing-back Emerson Royal, a moment of inattention that saw the Brazilian sent off with just under half-an-hour to play.

Tottenham really do need a positive result here. They lost 2-0 at Sporting in their previous Champions League game, and another failure in Germany could leave them six points adrift of top spot if Sporting beat Marseille.

Conte's record in league football is outstanding, but it will doubtless burn him that he has consistently failed to make an impact in this competition.

For what it's worth, Opta tell us that Spurs have lost their last four games against German opposition, while Frankfurt have won their last three games against English sides, so Conte has the hand of history pushing against him.

Dejan Kulusevski missed the trip to Arsenal with injury and is a doubt here, while Lucas Moura's struggling with a calf injury. Ben Davies was injured at Sporting and hasn't featured since, and it remains to be seen whether Conte will rotate his line-up for such an important game.

Spurs too short to take the win

Although Frankfurt's home form this term has been decidedly patchy, I can't get excited about backing Tottenham at 2.166/5 to take three points here. They were lethargic in their 2-0 defeat at Sporting, and they face an Eintracht side that's on a roll.

Tottenham have won just one of their last five away games in all competitions, and that was at struggling Nottingham Forest. I suspect the atmosphere at Deutsche Bank Park will be terrific, and Frankfurt have players on great form.

You can back the hosts +0.5 on the Asian Handicap at 1.845/6, and you can use the Sportsbook's Bet Builder to add BTTS to a Double Chance bet, which gives you a combined price of 2.466/4. Both teams have scored in six of Tottenham's ten games so far in all competitions, and Frankfurt have kept just two clean sheets in six home games.

Kolo Muani can make his mark

Randal Kolo Muani is in the form of his life, and can be backed at 2.111/10 to provide either a goal or an assist here on the Sportsbook.

He'll surely start, with a domestic suspension looming, and he has the quality to test a Spurs defence which has leaked seven goals across its last three matches.

At the other end, Harry Kane is priced at 2.111/10 to find the net, and he's scored in his last three games for club and country. Stretching further back, the England captain has found the net in seven of his last ten.