Despite the leaders of Serie A advancing to the round of 16 with relative ease by winning their first five matches, the team from their group’s hosts staged a comeback on the penultimate day of play to take second place. The two competitors will now square off against one another in the first leg of a tiebreaker to determine who will advance to the quarterfinals.
Team News
Eintracht Frankfurt
- Oliver Glasner has practically his whole roster open to choose from for Tuesday night’s game. The coach is considering making at least a couple of lineup adjustments.
- There are no further fitness worries for Frankfurt, so they are expected to start Hrvoje Smolcic and Aurelio Buta. Eric Dina Ebimbe is still unable to play due to an ankle injury, but other than that, there are no other problems. But, should Smolcic or his teammates Kristijan Jakic or Makoto Hasebe receive a yellow card during the second leg, they will be suspended for the match.
- The French forward Randal Kolo Muani starts up front once more, and he has scored in each of his past two outings in the Champions League. In addition, he registered 10 goals and 10 assists during his first season playing in the Bundesliga.
Napoli
- Concerns regarding the visitors’ Victor Osimhen, who has now scored in seven consecutive Serie A matches, were soon allayed by Luciano Spalletti following the in-form striker’s limping exit from Friday’s victory at Sassuolo.
- Due to a muscle ailment, Giacomo Raspadori will not be able to participate in the match. As a result, Hirving Lozano and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia should play on either side of Osimhen. The latter player posed a serious threat from left back throughout Napoli’s campaign in Group A, as he scored and assisted in the same game on two separate occasions.
- Piotr Zielinski will likely start in place of Eljif Elmas in the middle of the field, and Mario Rui and Mathias Olivera will compete with one another for the opportunity to start on the left side of the defense.
Possible Lineup
Eintracht Frankfurt: Trapp, Smolcic, N’Dicka, Tuta; Buta, Kamada, Sow, Max; Lindstrom, Gotze; and Kolo Muani
Napoli: Meret; Di Lorenzo, Kim, Rrahmani, Rui; Lobotka, Anguissa, Zielinski; Lozano, Osimhen, Kvaratskhelia
Prediction Analysis
Both teams come into this matchup, which features two underdogs competing in the Champions League and aiming to upset the established hierarchy in Europe, with an abundance of self-assurance. In spite of Napoli’s prowess, it is possible that Frankfurt will be able to secure a hard-fought tie if they are able to take the lead: thus far this league season, Frankfurt has not suffered a defeat when they have taken the lead, going on to win 11 of their games and draw two of them.
Our prediction is Frankfurt 2-2 Napoli.