DFB-Pokal: Bulls and Eagles in Berlin Showdown

RB Leipzig vs Eintracht Frankfurt

Red Bull Leipzig and Eintracht Frankfurt are set to meet in the DFB Pokal final on Saturday when Leipzig have high hopes of retaining the title they won in 2022.

After a strong second half of the campaign Red Bull have finished third in the Bundesliga table while Frankfurt ended the season in seventh. The DFB Pokal 2023 betting odds are backing a Leipzig win, but they face a team with two in form strikers so it could be a good one for the neutrals.   

Marco Rose’s Red Bull were never really in the title race but they finished well. While Borussia Dortmund were suffering devastation on the final day Leizpig won their last game of the season, 4-2 against Schalke, meanwhile Eintracht were beating SC Freiburg 2-1. Oliver Glasner knows that his team may be broken up over the summer so he’ll be pushing his men on to finish the campaign in style.      

Talking Points

No Silva for Red Bull

Leipzig have confirmed that striker Andre Silva will miss out on the final as he suffered a muscle strain in his left thigh during training earlier this week. The Portuguese forward won’t feature again this season, but Rose has a fully fit side otherwise, and plenty of firepower in his squad. Two strikes on the final day of the season pulled Christopher Nkunku up to 16 goals alongside top scorer, Werder Bremen’s Niclas Fullkrug, and the two have a share of the Golden Boot. Timo Werner has five goals in the DFB Pokal and nine in the league, though he has suffered with an ankle injury during the campaign.

Leipzig showed in a recent match with FC Bayern that they can take apart the best teams on their day as they ran out 3-1 winners, a result which gave BVB a golden chance to win the title, which they duly fluffed. And Red Bull actually climbed to within five points of the top, some feat considering they came from such a long away behind. Rose has a wealth of talent at his disposal, and another player who is certain to feature in the DFB Pokal 2023 highlights package is midfield ace Dominik Szoboszlai, one of the scorers against FC Bayern. The Hungary captain is widely admired across Europe and Premier League moneybags team Newcastle United would love to take him to St James’ Park, but the Magpies would have to shell out around £70m for the attacking midfielder.      

Eintracht’s Strikers in Demand  

In the opposite dugout Glasner will try to push his team on and take the game to Leipzig, because if Eintracht can find space in the final third they have two strikers in great form, both of whom may well be on their way after the final. Randal Kolo Muani has six goals in the competition and the French striker was third top scorer in the league, scoring 15 goals while also making 11 assists. He’s going to make a decision on his future straight after the final and he is one of Manchester United’s top targets for their summer rebuild; but the Red Devils may have competition from Chelsea as Blues boss Mauricio Pochettino is said to be a big fan of the 23 year old.   

Glasner will play with Daichi Kamada just behind Kolo Muani and he too has had a highly productive season, with nine goals and six assists in the league and four goals in the DFB Pokal. But, while Kolo Muani’s future is uncertain, Kamada’s move to AC Milan is all but sealed and will be once his contract expires at the end of June.

Eintracht fans know they can’t keep hold of their best players so they will be hoping for a fond farewell. 

History

After losing the 2019 and 2021 finals Red Bull won the 2022 DFB Pokal with a penalty shootout victory over SC Freiburg. And Frankfurt are five times DFB Pokal winners, the last occasion in 2018 when they beat strong favourites Bayern Munich 3-1.

The head to head encounters stand at four wins each in all competitions, with seven draws; and the spoils were shared this season as Frankfurt thumped Red Bull 4-0 at home but then Leipzig exacted a 2-1 revenge in February.   

Red Bull have made a fast finish to the campaign and are on a winning run of six matches while Frankfurt have won three, drawn two and lost one of their last six.      

Betting Tip

Frankfurt are at SBOTOP odds of 3.78 to win in 90 minutes and the draw is at 3.65 but, while the Eagles have two red hot forwards, Red Bull have much greater strength in depth and are on a fantastic run, so I’m backing Leipzig to retain their title.  

 

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