Union Berlin vs Eintracht Frankfurt — Tips & Analysis

Eintracht Frankfurt +-0: Union open the season with their back line in pieces. Centre backs Markgraf and Nsoki are both out, Friedrich is a doubt, and goalkeeper Ronnow missed the cup tie with an adductor problem. Frankfurt are the wrong team to face like that, because they hurt sides in transition. Union have let in 2 goals a game across their last 11, and they lost by 2 or more in 4 of them. They have won only 4 of those 11 games, so there is little to trust at the back. Frankfurt have scored in each of their recent away games, which finished 2-3, 1-1, 2-1 and 1-2. They have also had the better of this matchup, winning 8 of the last 17 meetings. They come in with eight days of rest to Union's six, so they should be the fresher side. Expect a stretched game with chances at both ends. A 1-2 Frankfurt win looks the most likely finish, and that is all this pick needs. The catch is that Frankfurt are not in great form themselves. They did not win any of their five games before the cup tie, losing 1-3, 1-2 and 2-3 along the way. They are missing Collins, Knauff and Ngankam too. Union's broken defence is still the bigger problem, so we side with Frankfurt.