Eintracht Frankfurt will look to return to winning ways in the Europa League after seeing their record-breaking unbeaten run come to an end last time out when they welcome Ferencvaros to Deutsche Bank Park on Thursday night.
The hosts are assured of a place in the knockout round, and will now aim to finish in the top eight, while Ferencvaros are hoping they can hold onto their place in the top 24.
Match preview
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As one of the most impressive teams in the Europa League so far this season, Frankfurt have taken the lead in all six league phase matches so far, but that was not enough to extend their unbeaten UEL run of 18 games at Lyon, losing 3-2 in France.
That contributed to a woeful run they endured at the end of 2024 that saw Dino Toppmoller's men fail to win any of their last five matches of the calendar year - losing four.
However, the 'winterpause' clearly had a positive effect on Frankfurt, because they have returned and won all three games in 2025 so far, continuing that run with a victory over Borussia Dortmund at the weekend, doing so without Manchester City-bound Omar Marmoush.
That kept Toppmoller's side comfortably inside the top three, and while the title is out of reach, a place in the Champions League is a real possibility again.
The hosts could claim a spot in the Champions League by winning this competition again though, like they did back in 2022, with a start that has seen them take 13 points from six games standing them in good stead to finish in the top eight and advance directly to the last 16.
With Roma to come on matchday eight, the Eagles will hope to ease the pressure on that fixture by winning here, and repeating the 4-1 success they managed the only other team they have hosted Ferencvaros, all the way back in the 1966-67 Fairs Cup.
Ferencvaros also have a woeful record against German clubs, losing seven of the nine matches against teams from the country, most recently losing both legs of a last-16 tie against Bayer Leverkusen in this competition two years ago.
However, the Hungarian side are having their finest European campaign in some time, and look set to reach the knockout round, sitting 16th at present, with two or three points likely to be enough to seal progression.
![Franculino (7) of FC Midtjylland and Ibrahim Cisse (27) of Ferencvaros seen during the UEFA Champions League qualification match between FC Midtjylland and Ferencvaros at MCH Arena in Herning on August 6, 2024 [on August 20, 2024]](https://sm.imgix.net/24/34/franculino-and-ibrahim-cisse.jpg?w=640&h=480&auto=compress,format&fit=clip "Franculino (7) of FC Midtjylland and Ibrahim Cisse (27) of Ferencvaros seen during the UEFA Champions League qualification match between FC Midtjylland and Ferencvaros at MCH Arena in Herning on August 6, 2024 [on August 20, 2024]")
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With three wins from their six UEL games so far, Ferencvaros will be looking to win a fourth in a single campaign for the first time since the 1994-95 Cup Winners' Cup, but there will be a new manager in the dugout looking to earn an important win.
Pascal Jansen left the club at the start of the year to join New York City FC in MLS, with Ferencvaros opting to hire former Tottenham Hotspur striker Robbie Keane as the replacement.
Keane has a tricky test over the coming week, with domestic action in Hungary yet to get back underway, so he will take his team to Frankfurt on the back of no competitive action, before hosting AZ Alkmaar next week.
December 15 was the last time the Greens were in competitive action, beating Nyiregyhaza 1-0, just a few days after they were thumped 5-0 by PAOK Salonika in this competition, so with form faltering, the break was needed.
The visitors have played two friendlies in the past week, but they have offered little to be encouraged about, drawing with third-tier German club Munster and losing to Piast Gliwice, both without scoring.
That should not concern Keane too much though, because only six of the other 35 Europa League teams have outscored Ferencvaros in the league phase so far.
Team News
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Frankfurt will be without their player of the season so far, with Marmoush finalising a move to Man City, and no direct replacement has yet been signed to replace him.
Hugo Ekitike appears keen to step up to the plate and replace those goals though, netting in back-to-back games, including the opener against Dortmund at the weekend.
On the injury front, Aurele Amenda is out for the long term with a cruciate ligament injury, while Eric Ebimbe is still recovering from illness.
Ferencvaros raised a few eyebrows with their signing of former Liverpool man Naby Keita last week, but as has so often been the case, he is currently out injured, and not registered to play in this competition.
Barnabas Varga will return from suspension for the visitors and that could be crucial for the away side's chances here, given his form on the continent so far, with five goals in five games.
That is the most any Hungarian player has managed in Europe since Balazs Dzsudzsak got five in 2010-11, and Varga is one away from matching Zoltan Gera's 21st-century record of six goals in a single season.
Eintracht Frankfurt possible starting lineup:
Trapp; Collins, Koch, Theate; Kristensen, Skhiri, Gotze, Larsson, Brown; Ekitike, Knauff
Ferencvaros possible starting lineup:
Dibusz; Makreckis, Cisse, Gartenmann, Ramirez; Rommens, Maiga, Abu Fani; Kady Borges, Varga, Traore
We say: Eintracht Frankfurt 3-1 Ferencvaros
This upcoming fixture is certainly more winnable on paper than their trip to Roma on matchday eight will be, so there is no doubt that Toppmoller will give it the attention it deserves, and the hosts should return to winning ways on the continent.
This will be a baptism of fire for Keane in charge of Ferencvaros, and they may have to rely on getting a result against AZ next week if they are to advance.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Andrew Delaney
