Preview: “Little time”, but lots to do | OneFootball

Eintracht Frankfurt are aiming to get back on track as quickly as possible – preferably on Saturday against a Hoffenheim side who are one of the most in-form teams in the Bundesliga at the moment.

Looking back: Eintracht hold upper hand

While some may suggest that Eintracht are playing Hoffenheim at the wrong time, a glance at the teams’ recent head-to-head record suggests otherwise. This is a fixture the Eagles tend to enjoy, having won six and drawn three of their last ten home games against Saturday’s opponents. Their only defeat in that run – a 2-0 reverse – came back in April 2016. As Krösche warned, though: “We can’t alter what’s happened in the past and need to keep focusing on today and tomorrow.”

Interim head coach Dennis Schmitt has also urged his players to grasp the bull by the horns, as it were, despite the “little time” available to his squad. “It is what it is,” said the 32-year-old. “We’ll recover, analyse, work hard and try and give our all against Hoffenheim. We can’t do magic, but I can promise everyone that we’ll throw everything we have into that game.”  

Goals almost guaranteed?Whatever happens, Saturday’s clash promises to be a tight, hard-fought encounter. “We’ll remind the lads what they’re capable of, because the quality is obviously there,” continued Schmitt, who may have been referring in particular to Eintracht’s attack. The Eagles have racked up 38 league goals so far this term – the second-highest tally behind league leaders Bayern Munich. Hoffenheim, though, boast the third-strongest attack in the division, having found the net on 35 occasions. 

Younes Ebnoutalib, Ayoube Amaimouni-Echghouyab and Arnaud Kalimuendo have all opened their accounts in Eintracht’s first three league games of 2026. Whether Frankfurt can continue that impressive run remains to be seen, but – unlike in the Champions League on Wednesday – Schmitt and his assistant coaches Alex Meier and Jan Fießer are set to have their winter signings at their disposal. 

“We’ll have a couple more lads available who weren’t allowed to play [in Baku],” said Schmitt ahead of his Bundesliga coaching bow. However, the interim boss is not letting himself be distracted by personal milestones, saying: “It’s about playing successful football again and get the club into a good position. That’s the most important thing.”