Preview: Eintracht Frankfurt vs. Stuttgart - prediction, team news, lineups

Two teams at the wrong end of the table meet in Bundesliga action on Sunday, as Eintracht Frankfurt host Stuttgart at the Commerzbank Arena.

Both sides would be hoping to fight it out in the top half, if not the European places, but find themselves in the bottom half after relatively poor starts to the new season.

Match preview

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New Frankfurt boss Oliver Glasner has not enjoyed the best of starts at his new club since joining from Wolfsburg in the summer.

His new side are winless in their opening four competitive matches, with two defeats followed by two draws.

After beginning with a humiliating exit in the first round of the DFB-Pokal against third-tier side Waldhof Mannheim, Die Adler were then hammered 5-2 on the opening Bundesliga weekend away to Borussia Dortmund.

Following on from there, they have endured disappointing draws against two sides tipped to struggle around the relegation places this season - 0-0 at home to Augsburg, and 1-1 away to Arminia Bielefeld most recently before the international break.

Two of the contributing factors to this poor start to the campaign are certainly related to the departure of last season's top goalscorer Andre Silva, who left for RB Leipzig, and the ineffective form of last year's creator - Filip Kostic.

Glasner will be hoping his side have arrived back from the international break in fresh shape, as they look for their first win of the season over a Stuttgart side that they could only manage two draws against in 2020-21.

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As for the visitors, their promising first two fixtures are already a distant memory after following them up with two damaging defeats prior to the break.

Thumping 6-0 and 5-1 wins over BFC Dynamo in the DFB-Pokal and Greuther Furth in the league opener respectively were the perfect way for manager Pellegrino Matarazzo to pick up from an impressive 2020-21 season.

After guiding them to promotion back to the Bundesliga within his first seven months in charge, Matarazzo oversaw a successful ninth-place finish in Stuttgart's return to the top flight last season.

The 4-0 hammering away to RB Leipzig and a 3-2 derby defeat at home to rivals Freiburg before the break meant the international fixtures came at a good time for Die Roten.

Matarazzo finds his side in a similar situation to their hosts this weekend, in that the break was a good period to rethink some ideas and prepare for Sunday's fixture with the hope of getting the new league campaign back on track.

Team News

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A rare positive note for Frankfurt has been the bright performances of summer signings Jens Petter Hauge and Jesper Lindstrom in the forward line behind the striker.

They were brought in to help fill the void left by the departed Andre Silva and are expected to start in the wide areas on Sunday.

Sam Lammers was a signing completed late in the window, with the Dutch striker arriving on loan from Atalanta. He is expected to start up front for his debut, with Rafael Santos Borre arriving back late from international duty with Colombia.

Midfielder Sebastian Rode is the only player ruled out for this weekend's hosts, as he continues to suffer with a knee injury.

Meanwhile, Stuttgart's injury list is far longer than their hosts' ahead of Sunday's trip.

Last season's star striker Sasa Kalajdzic is out for the rest of 2021 after undergoing surgery on his shoulder, with Hamadi Al Ghaddioui leading the line in his absence.

Youngsters Naouirou Ahamada (ankle), Momo Cisse (foot), Lilian Egloff (foot), Mohamed Sankoh (knee) and Silas Katompa Mvumpa have all been ruled out, whilst Chris Fuhrich is listed as doubtful due to a collarbone injury.

Atakan Karazor is expected to rejoin the centre of midfield after recovering from a muscular injury suffered in the opening weekend win over Greuther Furth. He will take the place of Philipp Klement.

Eintracht Frankfurt possible starting lineup:
Trapp; Durm, N'Dicka, Hinteregger, Lenz; Sow, Hrustic; Hauge, Kamada, Lindstrom; Lammers

Stuttgart possible starting lineup:
Muller; Mavropanos, Anton, Kempf; Massimo, Karazor, Endo, Sosa; Forster, Klimowicz; Al Ghaddioui

We say: Eintracht Frankfurt 2-2 Stuttgart

Both sides will be hoping for the win that will breathe some life into their starts to the new season, but we can see this one finishing as a draw. After the sides could not be separated on either occasion in 2020-21, this one could go the same way. An entertaining score draw is a likely outcome.