Bayern Munich will look to make it two wins out of two matches on Saturday when they travel to the Commerzbank-Arena to face Eintracht Frankfurt. In the other camp, Frankfurt will be looking to put in a far better performance than the one last weekend where they suffered an embarrassing 6-1 loss to Hertha Berlin.
Eintracht Frankfurt vs. Bayern Munich: Preview and TV schedule
Eintracht Frankfurt will need an excellent performance against Bayern Munich on Saturday if they have any plans to avoid starting the Bundesliga season with two losses.
The champions may have controlled the match last week in their 3-1 victory over Borussia Mönchengladbach, but it sure didn't seem like it for long periods of time throughout the contest. The main reason continues to be their lack of defensive discipline in Pep Guardiola's 4-1-4-1 formation. Last season's march to the treble and being crowned "Europe's best team" had a lot to do with the double pivot in Jupp Heynckes' 4-2-3-1. The shift under Guardiola with just Bastian Schweinsteiger in the holding position is still being worked out by the players.
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How long will the adjustment take? Who knows, at this point. When they’re in possession, Bayern nearly look otherworldly. The speed at which the players pass the ball among themselves is something to behold. However, once they lose possession, at least against quality teams, the trouble starts. With five pure attacking players on the field at once time, it usually leaves Schweinsteiger stranded to slow down a quick counterattack before the opposition is running full speed at the defense.
Luckily for Bayern, Frankfurt aren’t quite as good on the counter as Gladbach. Last week they fell victim to Hertha Berlin’s “Welcome back to the Bundesliga” party, but I don’t think they received the memo. When the final seconds ticked off the clock they were losing 6-1 and suffering an embarrassing defeat. They did have the possession advantage over Hertha but were repeatedly caught on the break. Against Bayern, they’ll have to adjust to being the side playing on the break, and that’s where their opportunities will come from in the contest.
Armin Veh lined up in an attacking 4-1-3-2 formation and paid for it. This week, he'll likely shift to a 4-2-3-1 to give his side more players in the midfield to compete with Bayern's dominance. It will also add a little more defensive bite with Sebastian Rode partnering Pirmin Schwegler in the center of midfield.
Unfortunately, it's not likely to mean a lot this weekend, as Bayern are the superior team and should prove it on the field. The biggest news for the match is that we will likely see the Bayern Munich Bundesliga debut for Mario Götze.
Projected Lineups
Eintracht Frankfurt: Kevin Trapp; Sebastian Jung, Carlos Zambrano, Marco Russ, Bastian Oczipka; Pirmin Schwegler, Sebastian Rode; Stefan Aigner, Alexander Meier, Takashi Inui; Joselu
Bayern Munich: Manuel Neuer; Philipp Lahm, Dante, Jerome Boateng, David Alaba; Bastian Schweinsteiger; Arjen Robben, Toni Kroos, Thomas Müller, Franck Ribery; Mario Mandzukic
Injuries and Suspensions
Eintracht Frankfurt: Sebastian Jung (probably - adductor), Carlos Zambrano (probable - ill)
Bayern Munich: Holger Badstuber (out - knee), Mario Götze (probably - thigh)
Television and Streaming
TV: Gol TV (USA & Canada), BT Sport (England), Sky 1 (Germany)
Streaming: Sky Go (Germany)
Time and Location
Time: 15:30 Local / 9:30 AM Eastern
Location: Commerzbank-Arena, Frankfurt
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