Against Leipzig, coach Oliver Glasner will probably have to rebuild his attack. Goncalo Paciencia injured his thigh in the away game in Bochum and was absent for Wednesday’s training week opener. That could open up a new chance for Sam Lammers in the starting eleven alongside the seeded Rafael Borré.
There’s usually no way around Borré in the forwards. Even on bad days like Sunday in Bochum (0:2), where the Colombian attacker didn’t manage much either, there’s one thing you can’t accuse him of: a lack of commitment. The newcomer from River Plate, who is only 1.74 metres tall, plays with a fiery heart, but like his colleagues, he still needs to improve his goal-scoring ability and become more assertive.
One goal each in the Bundesliga and the Europa League are not satisfactory. In Bochum, he could have added his second league goal from the penalty spot, but fellow striker Goncalo Paciencia grabbed the ball – and missed miserably. “It was agreed that whoever took the penalty would take responsibility. But we always have the possibility to discuss and decide the final on the pitch,” explained Borré. Three days earlier, he himself had converted a penalty kick against Olympiakos Piraeus in a powerful and confident manner.
No explanation for fluctuations in performance
Borré can’t quite explain the team’s big fluctuations in performance. “After the game against Olympiakos we had a very good feeling,” said the striker on Wednesday on the sidelines of the training ground – and ranted: “You can’t show such different faces. We have to work on that and always keep the tension high.”
The chance to make amends comes on Saturday against Leipzig, who have recently failed to win seven consecutive away games in the Bundesliga. Despite the subterranean performance in Bochum, it would not be a big surprise if there were happy faces again in the Stadtwald on Saturday. In recent years, Eintracht have regularly been in great form at home against RB. Two wins and three draws are their record in the Bundesliga, with a 3:1 home win in the DFB-Pokal in February 2020 to boot.
Personnel question marks
Personnel wise, there are once again some question marks. In the forward line, Lammers could get a chance from the start, but it is also conceivable that Glasner only relies on a real top in Borré. Normally, defensive specialist Stefan Ilsanker would also be a good alternative. The veteran convinced in both games against his ex-colleagues from Leipzig last season and could defend in place of Tuta. On Wednesday, however, the Austrian international was absent due to a cold – use is questionable.
The same applies to Kristijan Jakic, who took part in running training on Wednesday after suffering a bruised pelvis in Bochum, but did not take part in team training yet. Should Jakic be absent, Sebastian Rode could move into the first eleven. However, the captain is not yet back to 100 per cent after undergoing an arthroscopy on his knee in August. It would probably be better to slowly bring the fighter up through joker appearances.
There is positive news about Aymen Barkok, who has recovered from the knee blister he suffered on his last international trip with Morocco and is back in training.
