Benfica welcome the visitors Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League Playoffs – Quarterfinals. The match will be held on Thursday, April, 11th, at the Estadio da Luz (Lisbon).
When headed Benfica, Jorge Jesus has done an impressive job on the club’s development. He left an outstanding heritage that enabled his successor Rui Vitoria win the league 2 consecutive seasons after. That said, last campaign, Benfica’s reign stopped, as the team underwent serious modifications. The major staff turnover, common for Portuguese clubs, and the evident deterioration in performance were attributed to the changes at the managerial post. Bruno Lage was appointed Benfica’s new manager, and he showed himself great within a couple of months. Benfica caught up with Porto in the standings. Presently, the sides have the same tally and equal chances for the gold medals. Actually, the ‘Aguias’ look much more solid in the attack – they scored nearly 20 goals more than any other division’s contender did. In February, they smashed Nacional by a scoreline of 10:0. In the Europa League, they first passed Galatasaray (2:1 away and 0:0 at home) and then Dinamo Zagreb. The fight with the Croats appeared tougher. In the 1st leg, Benfica conceded on the road, 1:0, then they won in Lisbon, featuring the same score. The overtime saw them net twice to Dinamo.
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Eintracht Frankfurt keep their international run, which cannot but please their fans. The team’s performance just gets better throughout the season. In the previous Europa League round, Eintracht managed Internazionale. After the goalless draw at home, the Frankfurt outfit celebrated a sensational victory in Italy (0:1). Before, they faced another serious side – Shakhtar Donetsk. After a tight draw in Kharkiv (2:2), Eintracht registered a confident 4:1 win on their turf. Same as last season, Adolf Hutter’s men are very competitive in the Bundesliga this campaign. To a large extent, the team’s successes are attributed to Niko Kovac’s era – the specialist left a strong base after he left to Munich. Though Eintracht don’t boast many technical and creative performers, they never struggle with the style and organization of the game. Before the international break, Eintracht won Nurnberg (1:0) and solidified their 5th place in the table. In fact, the visitors on the day have every chance to reach the Champions League zone – they run after Borussia Monchengladbach, and RB Leipzig sit only 1 win above them. Notably, the side are effective, only Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich made more goals.
The Thursday opponents have never met before. Not surprisingly, given that the guests quite rarely find themselves in the European competitions, unlike Benfica. Interestingly, either side is nicknamed ‘Eagles’, which makes the coming clash more exciting. The Germans are in outstanding form these days – they did not suffer a loss this calendar year, both domestically and continentally. Hosting the game, Benfica are seen favorites. There is no doubt they will play first, as their squad are more technical. The Portuguese sides are traditionally strong in their stadiums when competing in the European Cups, therefore, Benfica will look to achieve a solid handicap right in the home encounter.
Prediction for the match: Benfica to win home.
