Preview: Heidenheim at home | OneFootball

Eintracht will be looking to unleash their attacking forces at home to bottom-club Heidenheim, in a match where Jonny Burkardt is set to make his 150th Bundesliga appearance.

The backdrop: different ends of the tableAfter the 2-0 win at home to Freiburg and the goalless draw at St. Pauli last weekend, Eintracht currently sit seventh in the league ahead of Bundesliga Matchday 26, when they take on Heidenheim at Deutsche Bank Park on Saturday 14 March (kick-off: 15:30 CET). Their opponents are currently mired in a relegation battle and find themselves propping up the league on 14 points. Frank Schmidt’s team are without a win in 12 and currently ten points off safety. “The table speaks for itself, and unfortunately it’s looking pretty likely that we’ll be heading back to the second division,” the head coach said. 

Looking back: take nothing for granted

While Frankfurt’s record against Heidenheim in the top flight is an impressive one, the last time that these two teams met proved the old adage that there are no easy matches in the Bundesliga. After four wins in a row against these opponents, Eintracht could only manage a 1-1 draw in Heidenheim back in November. 

Riera effect

Since taking over the coaching reins, Albert Riera has overseen a run of five matches featuring three clean sheets for the Eagles – as many as they achieved in 20 games prior to that. When their defence has been breached, there were three goals in the loss away to Bayern and just the one away at 1. FC Union Berlin. Taking Riera’s time at the club as the sample size, no other team in the Bundesliga has conceded so few goals.

Riera also has the opportunity to become the first Eintracht head coach in over four decades to win his first three Bundesliga home matches with the club. “We need to keep on working hard and make sure that against opponents who will pack the defence, we create more chances,” said board member for sport Markus Krösche on Sunday evening after the St. Pauli match. Aurèle Amenda, meanwhile, spoke of “more attacking runs and hunger for goals”. 

Riera states that his team “has continued to make progress throughout the week’s training and will be looking to get more crosses in against Heidenheim for Jonny Burkardt to get on the end of”. The Eintracht striker is set to make his 150th Bundesliga appearance on Saturday, and what better way to mark the occasion than by picking up three points over the bottom club and steering the Eagles towards the European spots?