Striving to keep their unbeaten record in the league phase intact, Eintracht Frankfurt will host Rigas Futbola Skola at Deutsche Bank Park in the Europa League on Thursday night.
Die Adler have stuttered in the Bundesliga since their last continental match, and similar can be said of RFS, who are struggling with inconsistency on the domestic scene.
Match preview
![Eintracht Frankfurt coach Dino Toppmoller in training on August 15, 2024 [on August 17, 2024]](https://sm.imgix.net/24/33/dino-toppmoller.jpg?w=640&h=480&auto=compress,format&fit=clip "Eintracht Frankfurt coach Dino Toppmoller in training on August 15, 2024 [on August 17, 2024]")
© Imago
Since their last fixture in the revamped league phase of the 2024-25 Europa League, Eintracht Frankfurt have collected just the single point from two Bundesliga matches, drawing 3-3 with Bayern Munich prior to the international break on October 6 before losing at the home of Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday afternoon.
Continuing his brilliant goalscoring form at the beginning of this season, Omar Marmoush opened the scoring for Die Adler at the BayArena on the weekend, but the German champions managed to stage a comeback courtesy of efforts from Robert Andrich and Nigerian forward Victor Boniface.
After seven matches of the top-flight campaign, Eintracht Frankfurt are currently occupying sixth position in the Bundesliga table, level on points with Borussia Dortmund in seventh and four behind current pacesetters in the form of Vincent Kompany's Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig.
Die Adler have made a steady start on their quest to reclaim the Europa League crown after continental glory over Rangers in the final in 2022, with the German giants drawing 3-3 with Viktoria Plzen of the Czech Republic on September 26 before winning 3-1 away at Besiktas earlier this month.
![Petr Mares of FK Rigas Futbola Skola during the UEFA Europa Conference League Group A match at Tynecastle Park on October 10, 2022 [on August 20, 2024]](https://sm.imgix.net/24/34/petr-mares.jpg?w=640&h=480&auto=compress,format&fit=clip "Petr Mares of FK Rigas Futbola Skola during the UEFA Europa Conference League Group A match at Tynecastle Park on October 10, 2022 [on August 20, 2024]")
© Imago
Unsurprisingly, Rigas Futbola Skola have struggled during the opening weeks of the league phase in this season's Europa League, with the Latvian champions collecting just the single point from their first two matches in UEFA's second-tier club competition in the 2024-25 schedule.
That being said, RFS managed a marvellous share of the spoils versus a Turkish powerhouse last time out on the continent, with goals either side of the half-time break from Janis Ikaunieks and Lasha Odisharia securing a 2-2 draw at home against Galatasaray on October 3.
Since that stellar result at the expense of Okan Buruk's troops, RFS have earned six points from three matches in the Latvian Virsliga, with their most recent contest ending in a 4-1 battering of relegation-threatened FK Tukums 2000 on Sunday afternoon at LNK Sporta Parks.
Taking charge of Thursday's visitors to Frankfurt in March 2020, Viktors Morozs have enjoyed a success-laden spell at the reins of RFS, who have won 130 and lost just 27 of their 194 matches across all competitions with the forward-thinking 44-year-old in the managerial hotseat.
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Team News
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Eintracht Frankfurt remain without the services of midfielder Mehdi Loune, with the 20-year-old sidelined until next month due to a cruciate ligament injury.
Die Alder are also unable to call upon the talents of Oscar Hojlund, who featured in just one Bundesliga match at the beginning of the season before suffering a broken ankle.
The hosts' options in the middle of the park are further reduced by the illness of Ansgar Knauff, who is battling a cold picked up whilst on international duty for Germany Under-21s.
A prolific goalscorer for RFS in Virsliga during 2024, Ismael Diomande is unlikely to feature in Europe this season because of a serious ligament injury.
Alfusainey Jatta is yet to play for the Latvians in the Europa League this campaign but could be back for the final league phase matches in January.
Eintracht Frankfurt possible starting lineup:
Trapp; Kristensen, Koch, Theate, Nkounkou; Ebimbe, Tuta, Larsson, Gotze; Etikike, Marmoush
Rigas Futbola Skola possible starting lineup:
Ondoa; Savalneiks, Prenga, Lipuscek, Njie; Markhiev, Panic, Odisharia, Ikaunieks, Kouadio; Kigurs
We say: Eintracht Frankfurt 3-0 Rigas Futbola Skola
After testing their Bundesliga credentials against Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen over recent weeks, Eintracht Frankfurt should be ready to put RFS to the sword on Thursday night.
The continental minnows from Riga upset the apple cart by drawing with Galatasaray earlier in the month, but we feel that the visitors will be unable to repeat the trick on German soil in this one.
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