Bayer Leverkusen vs. Eintracht Frankfurt preview: Hjulmand targeting winning start | OneFootball

Bayer Leverkusen

Leverkusen are already on their second manager of the season after Erik ten Hag’s appointment proved to be a failed experiment. Ten Hag was dismissed after overseeing just three matches, with his only victory taking place in the DFB-Pokal against SG Sonnenhof Großaspach. Die Werkself went on to lose their Bundesliga opener against Hoffenheim, before they gave up a 3-1 lead to draw 3-3 with 10-man Werder Bremen on matchday two.

While the opening two league results may have contributed to Ten Hag’s dismissal, a number of other issues seemingly played a factor in the decision to part ways at such an early stage of the season. Ten Hag appeared to have a strained relationship with the club’s hierarchy, while there was also said to be tension between the players and the head coach in pre-season. As a result, Leverkusen felt it was best to admit they had made a mistake and make a change of coach, appointing former Denmark boss Hjulmand as Ten Hag’s successor.

Hjulmand is now set to start his second stint as a Bundesliga boss after spending a brief period at Mainz in the 2014-15 season. Friday’s contest will also represent his first game back in club football since he left Nordsjælland in 2019.

The new boss will be looking to continue Leverkusen’s impressive record in this fixture, considering the die Werkself have won each of their last 10 Bundesliga home matches against Frankfurt. Last season, Robert Andrich and Victor Boniface grabbed a goal apiece to condemn Frankfurt to a narrow 2-1 defeat at the BayArena.

Team News

Hjulmand is unable to call upon Martin Terrier and Jonas Hofmann due to injury. Friday’s contest will also come too soon for Jeanuël Belocian, who is closing in on a return following a lengthy spell on the sidelines. Meanwhile, Former Real Madrid star Lucas Vázquez is in contention to make his Leverkusen debut.

Predicted lineup: Flekken; Quansah, Badé, Tapsoba; Vázquez, García, Andrich, Grimaldo; Maza, Tillman, Schick

Eintracht Frankfurt

Frankfurt carried significant momentum into the international break after making a promising start to their Bundesliga campaign. Die Adler cruised to a 4-1 home victory over Werder Bremen on matchday one, before they produced another free-scoring display in their away clash with Hoffenheim.

Ritsu Doan netted a brace alongside a Can Uzun effort to fire Frankfurt to a 3-1 victory, making it eight league games without defeat since losing to Bremen in March (W5, D3). As a result of their impressive start to the season, Dino Toppmöller’s side are sitting in second place and are one of three teams with a 100% record in the Bundesliga, along with Bayern Munich and Köln.

If they are to maintain their perfect record, Frankfurt will have to pull off an away league win over Leverkusen for the first time since claiming a narrow 1-0 victory in December 2013. Die Adler have struggled defensively in recent games against Leverkusen, conceding at least three goals in five of their last six meetings, including a heavy 4-1 defeat in March’s home encounter.

Team News

Frankfurt head into Friday’s contest without the services of Mario Götze and Jessic Ngankam due to injury. However, the visitors are set to welcome back goalkeeper Kauã Santos and forward Jonathan Burkardt.

Predicted lineup: Zetterer; Kristensen, Collins, Koch, Theate; Larsson, Uzun, Chaïbi; Doan, Bahoya; Burkadt