Eintracht Frankfurt take on the visitors Galatasaray in the round 1 match of UEFA Champions League group stage. The match will be played on Thursday, September 18th at Deutsche Bank Park, Frankfurt.
Eintracht Frankfurt have often made sudden breakthroughs in recent years — winning the UEFA Europa League stands out as proof of their potential. Now, under Dino Toppmöller, they seem to be entering another successful period. Their return to European competitions in 2024 was largely linked to the rise of Omar Marmoush. The prolific Egyptian was sold in January, yet they still managed to finish third. This summer they pulled off another massive deal, selling Hugo Ekitike to Liverpool for nearly €100 million. And it hasn’t slowed them down — Ritsu Doan, signed with part of that money, has already been scoring freely, while the team started with wins in both the Bundesliga and the DFB-Pokal. In the previous round, they did lose 1-3 away to Bayer Leverkusen, but they created several chances and showed they can compete with top sides. Their defense has also looked much more organized this season, conceding just three goals in their first four competitive matches.
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Galatasaray clearly have no intention of slowing down. The Blood and Gold have established their dominance in Turkish football under Okan Buruk. That didn’t change even after José Mourinho took over Fenerbahçe last summer. Galatasaray once again completed a domestic double. However, they failed to get through the UEFA Champions League qualifiers in 2024 and did nothing notable in the UEFA Europa League either. To raise their level, they were extremely active in the summer transfer market — signing Angelo Fulgini, Wilfried Singo, Uğurcan Çakır, and in September even İlkay Gündoğan. They also pursued other big names, like Hakan Çalhanoğlu, though Inter Milan refused to let him go. Even without him, they opened the new season with only victories. After the international break, they beat Eyüpspor 2-0, further strengthening their lead at the top. Their attack has been ruthless, scoring at least twice in five of their last six games, while their defense has kept four clean sheets in that span.
The clubs have met only once before, in the UEFA Cup back in 1992. After a goalless draw in Germany, the Lions won 1-0 at home. This should be an entertaining game, even with Victor Osimhen unavailable. We’re backing over 2.5 total goals.
Prediction for the match: Over 2.5 scored goals.
