If the match between Eintracht and Borussia Dortmund had taken place at the end of last year, it would have been rightly regarded as a meeting of direct rivals for positions in the Champions League zone. However, both teams' starts in 2025 have put them far apart in the Bundesliga, and it is now difficult to assess the Bumblebees' ambitions. Borussia's fall in the standings has finally loosened the chair under its coach Nuri Shaheen. Adding spice to this topic is the information that Erik ten Hag, recently sacked from Manchester United, attended the last few matches of the Dortmund team. If the information is accurate, then these circumstances can not indicate anything other than a rapid coaching castling. In turn, the Frankfurt club has no questions about its coach, who became Dino Toppmeller the year before last. The young and ambitious coach assisted Nagelsmann at Leipzig and Bayern after which he received such a serious project, which is Eintracht. Bookmakers have identified the home team as favourites for the upcoming encounter, offering odds of 2.17 on their victory.

Eintracht returned after the winter holidays diametrically opposite to their upcoming opponent. The Frankfurt club alternately beat St Pauli and Freiburg, taking a solid third position. Of course, such results would have delighted the home fans, but before the new year Eintracht had a series of five matches in different tournaments, four of which ended in defeats and one draw.

The situation in Borussia before the winter break, in general, was stable. The team rarely won, but took points away from Bayern, competed well with Barcelona in the Champions League, and in the last game of the year got a unique away win, defeating Wolfsburg 3-1. If the defeat to Bayer Dortmund a week ago caused some resentment among the team's fans, the disgrace in Kiel in the middle of the current week provoked a barrage of criticism against the players and Nuri Shaheen. It would seem to be the right time for the Bumblebees to get their act together, but will they be able to win in Frankfurt am Main, having won away only once in the first half of the championship? Let's bet in favour of the hosts.