Without the glamor of other Champions League knockout rounds, like PSG-Bayern last week or Liverpool-Real Madrid tonight, Eintracht Frankfurt and Napoli will also have an interesting rivalry today. The strength of the Germans in their stadium is putting the fierce ‘calcio’ leader to the test. A revalidation for Luciano Spalletti’s team, who lead Serie A with a massive 15-point advantage over Inter after adding 62 of a possible 69 in 23 days.
“Napoli does not play like an Italian team. They play with incredible intensity and aggressiveness with the ball. We prepared for it. Our goal is clear: to qualify”, Oliver Glasner, coach of an Eintracht team sixth in the Bundesliga, five points from the lead, said yesterday.
Osimhen, 19 goals; Kvaratskhelia, 12
Napoli’s big threat is the deadly back-to-back tandem formed by Victor Osimhen and Kvicha Kvaratskhelia. After a cautious 2017-18 season at German Wolfsburg at the start of his career, the Nigerian has 19 goals this season (he is a ‘capocannoniere’ in Serie A with 18 and one in the Champions League), while the Georgian winger , a great revelation in his 22 years after arriving in the summer, a total of 12 (10 in ‘calcio’ and 2 in Europe). Both scored on Friday in Sassuolo’s 0-2 loss.
Kolo Muani, 15 goals
Scary numbers even though Eintracht also has a great goal scorer. Signed in July at the end of his contract with Nantes, Randal Kolo Muani exploded at the age of 24 with France at the World Cup in Qatar (with his save Dibu Martínez stopped him from scoring in the last minute of extra time in the final) and scored 15 goals, 10 in the Bundesliga and 2 in the Champions League, the second being a 1-2 win over Sporting in Lisbon that earned them a place in the round of 16. On Saturday he scored in a 2-0 win against Werder Bremen, the fifth in the last 5 days.
Like against Barça
In Frankfurt, the match was compared to the one that faced Eintracht against Barça in the last Europa League which they won. “The meaning is similar but Napoli came in a better situation than Barça before.” Glasner warned. On the other side, Spalletti, for his part, instructed his players: “We cannot afford to be nervous. We have to be good in defense and attack”.
likely lineups
Deutsche Bank Park, 9:00 pm
Eintracht Frankfurt: Trapp; Puta, Jakic, Ndicka; Knauff, Sow, Kamada, Max; Gotze, Lindstrom; Chief Muani
Coach: Oliver Glasner
TheNaples: Meret; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Kim, Mario Rui; Zambo Anguissa, Lobotka, Zielinski; Hirving Lozano, Osimhen, Kvaratskhelia
Instructor: Luciano Spalletti
Referee: Artur Dias (Portugal) / VAR: Tiago Martins (Portugal)
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
