Ajax vs Eintracht Frankfurt

DAS.GOLDBERG Stadion is the venue as Ajax and Eintracht Frankfurt go head-to-head in a tasty-looking pre-season friendly.

Erik ten Hag’s departure for Manchester United has had a massive bearing on Ajax’s mixed fortunes this pre-season. Without their long-term boss in the dugout, the ‘Lancers’ have alternated between winning (3) and not winning (D1, L1) across their five off-season friendlies. Ajax won a record-extending 36th Eredivisie title last season in emphatic fashion. However, the summer exodus involving Sebastien Haller, Ryan Gravenberch and Noussair Mazraoui could spell trouble for Alfred Schreuder’s team moving forward. Despite lacking their most prolific striker from last season, Ajax have netted 2+ goals in four of their five pre-season fixtures.

Meanwhile, reigning Europa League holders Eintracht Frankfurt have enjoyed a decent pre-season tour so far, racking up two wins from three summer friendlies (D1). Defensively robust, Oliver Glasner’s men kept a couple of clean sheets in their early pre-season before sailing past Serie A outfit Torino 3-1 last time out. Including the 2021/22 season, ‘Die Adler’ are unbeaten in seven consecutive matches (W4, D3), conceding under 1.5 goals in six. But scoring has been an issue for Frankfurt lately, as they have netted one goal or fewer in six of their last eight outings. The summer arrivals of Mario Gotze and Lucas Alario from PSV and Bayer Leverkusen, respectively, could improve Frankfurt’s scoring output moving forward.