A World Cup winner, a possible Premier League striker and the quickest Bundesliga participant in historical past are all a part of an Eintracht Frankfurt aspect aiming to finish Tottenham’s season.
The 2 golf equipment meet within the Europa League quarter-finals with Spurs internet hosting the German workforce on Thursday for the primary leg on the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, earlier than the second leg at Deutsche Financial institution Park on April 17.
Tottenham’s hopes of saving their season by lifting the Europa League in Bilbao on Could 21 now hinge on a last-eight tie towards the Bundesliga’s third-placed aspect, who misplaced their star participant Omar Marmoush in January following a £63.2m transfer to Manchester Metropolis.
Sky Sports activities talks to Sky in Germany’s Eintracht Frankfurt reporter Dennis Bayer to offer us the lowdown on the 2022 Europa League winners, who’ve an ex-Chelsea striker out to hang-out Spurs…
‘Reinvented Gotze taking part in quarterback function at Frankfurt’
Gotze joined Frankfurt from PSV Eindhoven in June 2022
Mario Gotze, who famously scored Germany’s World Cup-winning purpose in 2014, pulls the strings for Frankfurt, and the 32-year-old is vastly skilled, having made greater than 300 Bundesliga appearances and performed 119 video games in European competitors.
DB: “Mario Gotze has developed particularly nicely within the final month, and he is turning into extra of a core participant for them.
“He hasn’t simply rediscovered himself, he is reinvented himself. When you have a look at the younger Mario Gotze, when he was at Borussia Dortmund, he was among the finest gamers on the earth. He was quick, he might dribble, he might shoot, and he had nice imaginative and prescient and intelligence.
“Then he moved to Bayern Munich and his career took a little slide, because he didn’t really fit in there. He didn’t have a big injury, but he had some health problems [a metabolic disorder] so he was off the radar.
“Then he moved to PSV Eindhoven, and there he turned a unique Mario Gotze, as a result of he is not that explosive, not that quick anymore.
“And now at Frankfurt, he’s like a quarterback. He’s playing a little more defensively than he did at the prime of his career, but he still has outstanding vision and the ability to scan everything that’s happening on the field, so he assists and starts the offensive actions for the team. He’s not the one anymore who does the highlight-reel stuff, but he’s great for giving their game structure. He’s the brain of the team.”
PL goal Ekitike ‘among the finest Bundesliga gamers’
Frankfurt striker Hugo Ekitike is reportedly of curiosity to Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester Metropolis, and he’ll wish to show towards Spurs that he can minimize it towards Premier League opposition.
The 22-year-old Frenchman, who was as soon as a Newcastle goal, has scored 19 objectives and offered eight assists in all competitions this season, so will he comply with Marmoush in shifting to the English high flight this summer season?
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With Arsenal and Manchester United linked with a transfer for Ekitike, watch each Bundesliga purpose and help from the French ahead
DB: “Ekitike’s great. He’s one of the best players in the Bundesliga because he’s really fast, he’s tall, and very good technically with the ball, so that makes him a weapon. He’s the one Spurs need to contain offensively to stop Frankfurt.
“The hyperlinks to Premier League golf equipment are undoubtedly there. I do not know precisely the place he’ll go however Frankfurt are fairly positive that he’ll go away on the finish of the season.
“I think Ekitike has everything to play for a top Bundesliga club. But he’s not a training monster, so that could be an issue for a Premier League club. He’s also not the most powerful guy, although he’s athletic despite being a little thin.
“However I believe together with his talents, his velocity and his ending, he might undoubtedly play a giant function within the Premier League.”
Frankfurt have quickest Bundesliga participant in historical past
If Gotze’s imaginative and prescient and Ekitike’s high quality fail to harm Spurs, then Frankfurt possess one other weapon in Jean-Matteo Bahoya, who’s the quickest participant in Bundesliga historical past. Final month, the 19-year-old clocked up a velocity of 23.09mph – watch his record-breaking tempo under.
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Watch Frankfurt’s Jean-Matteo Bahoya document the quickest velocity in Bundesliga historical past this season
DB: “One of the hottest players right now is Jean-Matteo Bahoya. He joined a year and a half ago from the French second tier for €8m (£6.8m), but then he didn’t play that much.
“This season, nonetheless, he is growing very quick and scored his first two objectives for Frankfurt. He additionally turned the primary Bundesliga participant to clock over 37km/h (23mph).
“He’s a right-winger, and he’s the guy to look out for. He doesn’t have a high buzz around him, but he could be the next really good guy from Frankfurt.
“One in all Frankfurt’s largest strengths are counter-attacks as a result of they’ve these quick gamers.
“When they brought in boss Dino Toppmoller they wanted to develop more of a possession-based approach, and they tried to implement that last season, but it didn’t work out that well.
“Now they’ve gone again to being that high-speed workforce and since then they have been increasingly more harmful.”
Could an ex-Chelsea striker haunt Spurs?
A player at Frankfurt who has played in the Premier League is Michy Batshuayi. The former Chelsea and Crystal Palace striker joined Frankfurt in the winter transfer window from Galatasaray, and the 31-year-old Belgium international has scored two goals in seven appearances across all competitions.
DB: “Batshuayi was a Marmoush alternative as a participant that might slot in instantly.
Batshuayi has scored twice within the Bundesliga
“They are kind of happy with him because they didn’t think that he would come in and score 15 goals in the second half of the season – he’s a rotational player coming in, not a core player for them.
“He is giving them some physicality and a few presence within the field. He provides a unique part to the offensive recreation as a result of he is a bit of extra highly effective. He can hold the balls and maintain it for just a few seconds till the remainder of the workforce involves him.”
But there is also the potential for Frankfurt to be stung by Tottenham forward Mathys Tel, whom they targeted in January before the Bayern Munich teenager joined Spurs on loan.
DB: “Frankfurt wished to deliver Mathys Tel in as a alternative for Marmoush. In an interview with Toppmoller final week, he was very open about that, and he confirmed that he likes him.
“Toppmoller also trained him when he was the assistant at Bayern a few years ago. He wanted to bring him to Frankfurt, but they couldn’t manage to do it.”
‘Spurs face among the finest atmospheres in Germany’
Deutsche Financial institution Park is the house of Eintracht Frankfurt
A red-hot 58,000-capacity Deutsche Financial institution Park awaits Tottenham for subsequent Thursday’s second leg in Germany, so will that show to be the graveyard for Spurs’ season?
DB: “It’s one of the best and most fired-up atmospheres in Germany. If Tottenham are not good at handling such atmospheres, it’s going to be an opportunity for Toppmoller’s side.
“Frankfurt are on the up. If they will play at their highest degree, they’ve a bonus, and I’d say Frankfurt will transfer into the semis.
“But they’re not as consistent as in the first half of the season, so that could be a factor in Frankfurt which we will see. But I would say that they have the advantage.”
