Eintracht Frankfurt vs Arsenal preview, predictions & possible XIs

Arsenal begin their 2019/20 Europa League campaign with a challenging trip to last season’s semi-finalists, Eintracht Frankfurt.
The Gunners reached last season’s final themselves but were humbled 4-1 by London rivals Chelsea and have started this season in typically inconsistent fashion, most recently throwing away a 2-0 lead at Watford.
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Frankfurt have had to go through three gruelling rounds of qualifying to reach this stage, seeing off Flora, FC Vaduz and Strasbourg to reach the groups, so the fact that they’ve won two of their opening four Bundesliga matches must be taken as a positive.
That is all the more impressive considering they lost star players Luka Jovic, Sebastien Haller and Ante Rebic over the summer.
Read on for Eintracht Frankfurt vs Arsenal predictions, preview, team news and TV coverage information.
When is Frankfurt vs Arsenal and where can I watch live?
Competition: Europa League
Venue: Commerzbank-Arena
Date: Thursday, 19 September 2019
Kick-off: 17:55 PM BST
TV coverage (UK): BT Sport 2, BT Sport 2 HD & BT Sport app.
Recent form (last five matches)
Eintracht Frankfurt
14/09/19: Augsburg 2-1 Frankfurt (Bundesliga)
01/09/19: Frankfurt 2-1 Fortuna Dusseldorf (Bundesliga)
29/08/19: Frankfurt 3-1 Strasbourg (Europa League qualifying)
25/08/19: RB Leipzig 2-1 Frankfurt (Bundesliga)
22/08/19: Strasbourg 1-0 Frankfurt (Europa League qualifying)
W: 2 D: 0 L: 3 GD: 0
Arsenal
15/09/19: Watford 2-2 Arsenal (Premier League)
01/09/19: Arsenal 2-2 Spurs (Premier League)
24/08/19: Liverpool 3-1 Arsenal (Premier League)
17/08/19: Arsenal 2-1 Burnley (Premier League)
11/08/19: Newcastle 0-1 Arsenal (Premier League)
W: 2 D: 2 L: 1 GD: 0
Ones to watch
Eintracht Frankfurt:
The Portugal international will be one of the first looked upon in regards to filling the void left by the likes of the departing Jovic and Haller and his strength in the air means he should be the perfect replacement for the latter.
Key stat:
Arsenal: Nicolas Pepe
Under normal circumstances, Unai Emery might have been tempted to shuffle his pack for this one but after going three games without a win in the Premier League, he will likely field a strong side to go in search of victory.
If that is indeed the case, Nicolas Pepe will be key to the Spaniard’s plans, with his pace and trickery already proving a useful weapon for the Gunners during the early stages of the new season.
Will Alexandre Lacazette out until next month, Pepe’s link-up with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang up front will be key if the Gunners are to get back to form.
Key stat: Pepe has completed more dribbles (19) than any other Premier League player so far this season.
Team news
Eintracht Frankfurt
will face a late fitness test but is expected to be fit, while Sebastian Rode must also prove he is able to take part.
Marco Russ, Mijat Gacinovic and Jonathan de Guzman are all injured.
Predicted XI: Trapp; Abraham, Hinteregger, Hasebe; Rode; Gregoritsch, Sow, Chandler, Da Costa; Silva,
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Arsenal
Kieran Tierney, Hector Bellerin, Rob Holding and Konstantinos Mavropanos have all returned to training but remain short of match fitness.
Lacazette has been ruled out until October with an ankle injury.
Predicted XI: Leno; Kolasinac, Luiz, Mustafi, Maitland-Niles; Xhaka, Willock, Torreira, Ozil; Aubameyang, Pepe.
Squawka prediction
Both sides have made inconsistent starts to the new season, although for Arsenal, the pressure is on more considering they have strengthened their squad, rather than lose key men.
With no Lacazette, this trip to Germany really does look like a tough one and a point wouldn’t be the worst outcome.
Scoreline prediction: Frankfurt 1-1 Arsenal