Tottenham Hotspur vs Eintracht Frankfurt preview, H2H, team news, line-ups and prediction

“For us, for Frankfurt, for the region – for the whole of Germany…”

Eintracht Frankfurt captain Kevin Trapp will be hoping to channel the spirit of his iconic 2022 UEFA Europa League final speech to inspire his side when they face Tottenham Hotspur in Thursday night’s quarter-final first-leg clash.

It has been a challenging week for Tottenham’s coach, Ange Postecoglou, as he’s faced mounting questions about his future and the frustration of seeing VAR deny him a potential point against Chelsea, coupled with boos of “you don’t know what you’re doing” from Spurs supporters after his substitutions.

The 3-1 win over relegated Southampton on Sunday did little to ease the tension. Still, a strong performance in the first leg of this tie would be a significant step towards reconciliation. While Spurs struggled in the last 16 against AZ Alkmaar, securing a 3-1 win at home after a poor away showing, they were impressive during the Europa League group phase, finishing fourth. They are now among the favourites to win the competition but must overcome two tough tests before fans can start to think about buying UEFA Europa League final tickets. Lazio awaits the winners of this tie, provided they can defeat Bodo/Glimt.

This will be Spurs’ first European quarter-final since 2019, when they famously eliminated Manchester City on away goals en route to a dramatic Champions League final. However, their record in the quarter-finals is less than stellar, with just one win from 13 attempts, so Postecoglou’s side must break that trend to keep their season alive.

The match will also rekindle memories of their previous encounter with Frankfurt in the group stages of the 2022-23 Champions League, though their only last knockout meeting was in the 1981-82 Cup Winners’ Cup, where Spurs triumphed 3-2 on aggregate.

Frankfurt’s season has been largely successful despite the occasional blip. Under coach Dino Toppmöller, they have been in the mix for a UEFA Champions League spot, competing closely with Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga.

The Bundesliga side have been in excellent form, starting the calendar year with a seven-game unbeaten run—something they hadn’t achieved under Dino Toppmöller before. Their 55 goals scored in the league are the third-highest tally, and they’ve already won more Bundesliga matches this season than in the entirety of the 2023/24 campaign.

Die Adler’s youth development has been a standout feature this year, with 29 of their goals coming from players under 23. Their youth strike rate is the second-best in Europe’s top five leagues, only behind Strasbourg in Ligue 1. The likes of Ekitiké and Uzun have been particularly impressive, with Uzun, at just 19, recently scoring his fourth Bundesliga goal—matching a record set by Walter Bechtold in 1965/66.

This marks Frankfurt’s third Europa League quarter-final in six years, and their recent history in the competition is remarkable. Despite failing to win the first leg in their previous two quarter-finals, they managed to progress, including a memorable win at Barcelona’s Nou Camp in 2022 on their way to winning the tournament.

They also have an impressive Europa League record, with only two defeats in their last 23 games in the competition. Die Adler have shown that they are serious contenders, despite recent struggles since Omar Marmoush’s departure to Manchester City in January. The team have won just five of their last 13 matches and suffered a 2-0 defeat at Werder Bremen over the weekend. Nonetheless, they managed to hold onto third place in the Bundesliga.

While their recent form has been inconsistent, Frankfurt remains a formidable opponent. Their experience in European competitions, especially in the Europa League, makes them dangerous—particularly in the knockout stages.

Tottenham Hotspur vs Eintracht Frankfurt match details

• Date: Thursday, 10th April, 2025
• Location: London, England
• Venue: Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
• Kick-off time: 08:00 PM GMT, 09:00 PM CEST
• Referee: Szymon Marciniak
• Assistant referees: Tomasz Listkiewicz, Adam Kupsik
• Fourth official: Paweł Raczkowski
• VAR: Alejandro Hernández
• Assistant VAR: Cesar Soto Grado
• Tickets: You can buy Europa League tickets from the club exchanges or via a top online reseller such as Seatsnet.com

Match stats and head-to-head

• Tottenham’s forward Dominic Solanke has registered four assists in this season’s Europa League, with only Rayan Cherki (8) and Dries Mertens (5) recording more.

• Six of Tottenham’s last seven goals in the Europa League have come after the halftime break.

• These two teams met in the 2022/23 Champions League group stage, where Spurs triumphed 3-2 at home following a 0-0 draw in Germany. Their only previous European encounter was in the 1981/82 UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, where Tottenham won 3-2 on aggregate.

• Frankfurt’s main attacking force in the 2024/25 season has been Ekitiké, with 19 goals and eight assists across all competitions.

• Frankfurt’s 2021/22 Europa League victory saw them remain unbeaten throughout the competition, with 18 consecutive matches without a loss until their defeat to Lyon in the current season’s league phase.

• The Bundesliga giants have a fair record against London opponents. In their path to lifting the Europa League title in 2021/22, Die Adler beat West Ham United, and they also triumphed over Arsenal in the 2019/20 edition, having narrowly lost out to Chelsea on penalties in the semi-finals the previous year.

• Postecoglou has yet to win against Bundesliga clubs in four meetings as a head coach, suffering defeats both home and away to RB Leipzig and Bayer Leverkusen.

• Under Dino Toppmöller, Frankfurt have lost just two of their 10 Europa League fixtures this season, winning seven and drawing once. Their impressive form continues in the Bundesliga, where they remain in the Champions League spots with only six matches remaining.

Team news

For the next few weeks, Spurs will be without Dejan Kulusevski and Kevin Danso, possibly ruling them out for both legs of this tie. Radu Dragusin will also be absent for the remainder of the season due to an ACL injury.

Timo Werner will miss the match against his former club, as he is not part of Spurs’ Europa League squad. However, Richarlison, having recovered from injury, may be given some playing time after his return last weekend.

Rodrigo Bentancur, now available after serving his suspension, is expected to be part of the squad. At the same time, Postecoglou preferred to keep the injury-prone Micky van den Ven and Destiny Udogie on the bench during the weekend in preparation for this tie.

On the other hand, Frankfurt will have Nnamdi Collins available once his European suspension ends. Still, due to Kevin Trapp’s injury, the inexperienced Kaua Santos may need to step in as goalkeeper while Jens Grahl remains unregistered.

Neither Oscar Hojlund, Rasmus’s sibling, nor Junior Dina Ebimbe will be available for selection, as they aren’t registered. In addition, Ansgar Knauff and Elye Wahi are both sidelined with injuries. However, the Croatian forward Igor Matanovic has made his return after being out for two months.

Although Can Uzun may recover from his recent illness, Timothy Chandler is still recovering from a long-term hamstring issue and is a doubt for this clash.

Predicted starting lineup

Tottenham Hotspur predicted starting lineup:

Vicario; Pedro Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Bergvall, Maddison, Bentancur; Johnson, Solanke, Son

Eintracht Frankfurt predicted starting lineup:

Kaua Santos; Kristensen, Theate, Koch, Brown; Shkiri, Larsson, Tuta; Gotze, Ekitike, Bahoya

Prediction

Currently sitting 14th in the Premier League and already eliminated from the FA Cup, the Europa League is Tottenham’s only remaining opportunity to claim silverware and secure a spot in next season’s Champions League. While Ange Postecoglou’s squad has performed admirably in Europe this season, they did need to recover from a 1-0 deficit in their last-16 tie against AZ to advance to this stage.

However, the task grows even more daunting as they go up against Frankfurt—the competition’s winners from three years ago. The Bundesliga outfit sit fourth in the league and recently thrashed Ajax 6-2 to advance to this stage. Although Tottenham are still likely regarded as favourites, few would be surprised if Frankfurt knocked them out.

We’re predicting a 2-1 win for Frankfurt.