Eintracht Frankfurt vs Inter Milan Predictions

Frankfurt missed the opportunity to leave Ukraine with a lead in the last round, though they made light work of beating Shakhtar on home soil. Having easily beaten one of the Champions League dropouts at this venue, Adi Hütter’s men will be looking for another positive result.

There was lots to like about the way Frankfurt went about their business at this venue in the previous round, as they battered a sorry-looking Shakhtar outfit. On that occasion, Die Adler got on the front foot right from the word go; they created lots going forward, showed plenty of end-product, while they gave little away in the defensive third. The fact that Frankfurt emerged from that fixture with an expected goal difference of +1.37 tells us that they were deserving winners.

Not only did Thursday’s hosts impress when seeing off Shakhtar at Commerzbank Arena a fortnight ago, but they also delivered a string of encouraging efforts in front of their own fans during the group stages. In Group H, Frankfurt were up against the likes of Lazio and last season’s finalists Marseille, so it’s not like they had it easy, though they made light work of doing well on home soil, as they claimed maximum points at this venue, scoring a pleasing ten goals and conceding just one. As things stand, Frankfurt are averaging an impressive 2.39 expected goals for at home in the Europa League this season, while they’re conceding an average of just 0.91. Such numbers bode well ahead of this match, that’s for sure.

While Frankfurt eased past Shakhtar thanks to a big home win, Inter struggled to overcome a relatively weak Rapid Wien side on the road during the last round. The Italians did eventually come through thanks to a 5-0 aggregate win, but their performance when winning by a goal to nil away in Vienna wasn’t overly encouraging. On that occasion, Luciano Spalletti’s men had few problems defensively, as they kept Rapid at bay, though they didn’t look overly menacing in the final third, as they scored just once and clocked 1.48 expected goals for. Facing Frankfurt will be much tougher, so I Nerazzurri may have to raise their game.

Playing on the road was a bit of a struggle for Inter during the group stages of the Champions League too. After somewhat fortunately beating PSV first time out on their travels in that competition, the Italians lost away against both Barca and Tottenham. Three away matches in that competition saw Inter score an average of just 0.67 goals, while they shipped an average of 1.33.

The bet that stands out ahead of this fixture is ‘Frankfurt to Win’. Given how well they’ve performed at home in this competition, coupled with the fact that Inter haven’t looked great on the road in Europe this season, it’s easy to feel that the hosts ought to be a bit shorter in the betting. They’ve already got the better of some strong sides at this venue, and punters are advised to support Adi Hütter’s men to obtain another victory at what appears to be a slightly generous price.