Eintracht Frankfurt vs FC Basel 1893 Prediction & Betting Tips - Europa League

Prediction published on 09/03/2020, 10:07  by James | Modified on 09/03/2020 at 11:07 in Europa League Predictions

The round of 16 in the Europa league pits two former semi-finalists together when Eintracht Frankfurt host Basel in the first leg of their clash this Thursday. Frankfurt, who made it to the final four last season, made it through the round of 32 after an impressive 6-3 aggregate win over Salzburg. Basel, semi-finalists in 2013 with a squad that featured Mohamed Salah, navigated their way past APOEL with a comfortable 4-0 aggregate win in the last round. The consequence of Frankfurt's achievements last season was alerting clubs around Europe to the talents in their ranks. While they were impressing dismantling Salzburg, three defeats in the group stage highlighted that this is a team still gelling together. A seventh-place finish in the Bundesliga last season is unlikely to be replicated. A heavy 4-0 defeat to Bayer Leverkusen at the weekend as their third successive league loss. It leaves them 12th in the table, eight points off seventh place and a further point away from sixth, the final European qualification spot.

Basel have not played domestic football since the end of February due to a series of fixture postponements. This may leave them feeling somewhat rusty when they rock up in Frankfurt to take on an Eintracht side with a strong home record. Frankfurt have won five of their six matches at home in 2020. Basel's league form before this disruption to domestic service wasn't anything to boast about. The winter break didn't appear to do Basel much good as they lost three of their first five fixtures after returning. While their Europa League outings went by without a hitch, Frankfurt are a tougher opponent than APOEL. We think that they have enough quality to establish a first-leg lead. All five of their home wins this year have been by at least two goals. We see that pattern continuing against Basel. Back the hosts to win by at least two clear goals.