Europa League 2018/19 Tactical Preview: Eintracht Frankfurt vs Chelsea

The Europa League enters its final stages with the teams set to battle it out for a place in the final at the Baku Olympic Stadium. This tactical preview will dissect the semi-final between Eintracht Frankfurt and Chelsea. Both teams will be looking for another European title. While the Champions League has seen some exciting encounters and surprises, the Europa League hasn’t disappointed.

Chelsea would have taken note of Eintracht Frankfurt’s victories over Lazio and Marseille in the group stages, but also progressing past Shakhtar Donetsk, Inter Milan and Benfica have left Frankfurt the most dangerous team in the final four.

Frankfurt’s last triumph came in 1980 in the UEFA Cup Final that was played on 7 May 1980, and 21 May 1980. Eintracht Frankfurt took on Borussia Mönchengladbach in an all-German final. Eintracht Frankfurt won on away goals after the tie ended 3–3 on aggregate.

Chelsea have been Champions League regulars but the Europa League has been a competition they are regularly apart of. They won the competition in 2013, a season after winning the Champions League. Back to back European victories epitomised the Roman Abramovich era. The Holy Grail finally found its way to Stamford Bridge. The most sought after trophy since taking over Chelsea Football Club.

Frankfurt are coming off a sensational comeback against Benfica in the quarter-final. Eintracht Frankfurt have been enjoying a fine season under Adi Hütter. They currently sit in fourth place two points ahead of fifth place Borussia Mönchengladbach. Recovering from a stuttering start, the Eagles are now soaring since their 5-0 hammering by Bayern Munich in the Super Cup.

Their excellent performances in the Bundesliga combined with their European journey so far have given them a platform for success next season. Ante Rebić, Sébastien Haller and Luka Jović have been standout performers. The front three have formed a dangerous trident to spearhead Frankfurt to 15 wins and contributing to their 58 goals in the Bundesliga.

We gave away possession too cheaply and too frequently. Hertha played better and we need to improve. The fans gave us great support today. Itll be a completely different game against Chelsea on Thursday and well need to put ourselves in a good position for the return leg.  Makoto Hasebe

Chelsea made life difficult for themselves against Slavia Prague, conceding three goals entirely of their own doing. Maurizio Sarri has seen his team slowly understand his tactics but will likely require another transfer window to find players better suited to his system. At this stage of the season, Chelsea are battling for a place in the top four. The draw against Manchester United on Sunday keeps them in the running.

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Eintracht Frankfurt

Eintracht Frankfurt will be looking forward to their semi-final against Chelsea. No one expected them to make it this deep into the tournament and will be playing without fear. The German club have two noticeable absentees in Sébastien Haller and Ante Rebić. The two strikers will be sorely missed by Frankfurt and will be difficult to replace.

Its important that we also enjoy the match. Were in the semi-finals of the Europa League against a big club. Its something special. Well need to be courageous, flexible and execute our plan. – Adi Hütter

Expected starting XI: Trapp; Abraham, Hasebe, Hinteregger; Da Costa, Fernandes, de Guzmán, Rode, Kostić; Jović, Paciência

Chelsea

Chelsea boasts a relatively fully fit squad. Antonio Rüdiger and Callum Hudson-Odoi will be the only noticeable absentees. The German centre-back suffered a knee injury against Manchester United on Sunday. After undergoing successful knee surgery, he has been ruled out for the rest of the season. Andreas Christensen is in line to replace Rüdiger with key matches to be played, deciding Chelsea’s fate.

Willian picked up a knock after a heavy challenge from Argentine Marcos Rojo but trained and is in contention to start.

Callum Hudson-Odoi ruptured his Achilles against Burnley on April 22. The English international recently broke into the Chelsea first team, enjoying a run of games. The injury is a major setback in the youngster’s development but his return early next season should bolster the squad.

Emerson Palmieri and César Azpilicueta are expected to start at full-back alongside David Luiz and Christensen. The midfield three has been shuffled throughout the season by Sarri but looks to have settled on his preferred three. N’Golo Kanté, Jorginho and Ruben Loftus-Cheek should start. Loftus-Cheek was rested against Manchester United with Mateo Kovačić getting a run-out.

The final piece to the jigsaw puzzle will be selecting the strike force. Eden Hazard is guaranteed to start. The Belgian wizard has enjoyed a productive season under Sarri breaking his personal attacking contributions. Pedro should get the nod ahead of Willian after the Brazilian ace started at Old Trafford. Olivier Giroud has been in fine form in European competition. Gonzalo Higuaín hasn’t hit the ground running and is fighting to prolong his stay at Stamford Bridge.

Expected starting eleven: Kepa; Azpilicueta, Luiz, Christensen, Emerson; Jorginho, Kanté, Loftus-Cheek; Pedro, Giroud, Hazard

Eintracht Frankfurt’s attacking trident

Frankfurt’s attacking trident is one of the many highlights of the season. Ante Rebić, Sebastien Haller and Luka Jović form an extremely dangerous and effective trio. Adi Hütter’s setup has allowed the three players to thrive and create goal scoring situations. Luka Jović leads the goalscoring charts with 25 goals, but the burden has been shared between the three. Haller has contributed 19 goals while Rebić has 13. The intelligent movement and numerical superiority created by the front three has been a stand out feature of their play.

Ante Rebić usually plays as the number 10 acting as the link man between the two strikers. Rebić patrols the number 10 area putting pressure on any players being pressed by central midfielders. He often drops in order to take advantage of the space created by the two strikers, running from deep and interchanging passes with Jović or Haller.

In the recent Europa League tie against Benfica, we saw an example of their combination play. Sebastien Rode closes down the Benfica midfielder and persists till he wins back possession. Both Rebić and Jović are positioned slightly higher than the rest of the team. Rebić’s positioning allows him to pick up the loose ball and run toward the defender.

Anticipating the tackle, Rebić cleverly sidesteps the defender putting him in behind the defensive line. The defender checks his shoulder expecting Jović to continue his run. However, the Serbian forward intelligently moves closer to Rebić in between the two centre-backs.

Midfield key for Chelsea in stopping Frankfurt’s attacking force

Frankfurt’s wing-backs and front three will require a bit more tracking by Chelsea. This will either put pressure on N’Golo Kanté and Ruben Loftus-Cheek to act as Carrilero’s shuffling across midfield covering the opposing full-backs. It is the job of these shutters to cover lateral areas of the pitch and link the defensive area with the attacking midfield area.

Frankfurt may look to create overloads to tr