Frankfurt head into the contest on the back of a 2-2 draw against Mainz in their Bundesliga battle at the weekend, while Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side defeated Hearts 3-1 in their final Scottish league game of the season.
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Eintracht Frankfurt will play Rangers FC in the 2022 Europa League final at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan on Wednesday night. The German side got the better of West Ham United in the semi-final to book their spot in the historic showpiece event, while their Scottish counterparts ended the RB Leipzig dream. Frankfurt head into the contest on the back of a 2-2 draw against Mainz in their Bundesliga battle at the weekend, while Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side defeated Hearts 3-1 in their final Scottish league game of the season.
???#SGEuropa #SEIVILLJAAAAA #SGERFC pic.twitter.com/DWoL74LqnZ
— Eintracht Frankfurt (@eintracht_eng) May 17, 2022
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Although Frankfurt’s dometic season hasn’t been very great, finishing 11ith in the Bundesliga standings, head coach Oliver Glasner has done a fabulous job to take his side to the title decider without losing a single game. The German side got the better of Real Betis, Barcelona and West Ham in the knockout stages of the competition. After ending the dreams of favourites Barcelona in the quarter-finals, Glasner’s side made the trip to London stadium, claiming a 2-1 semi-final first leg win over West Ham before completing a famous European endeavour at the Deutsche Bank Park.
Rafael Borre’s long goal in the second leg secured Frankfurt a 3-1 aggregate win against the Premier League side and presented his side with a chance to end a 42-year-long drought in Europe. Only two sides have ever won the Europa League while remaining unbeaten in the process- Villarreal did so last year following Chelsea’s storming run to the crown three years ago. Meanwhile Benfica and Inter Milan represent two two sides who have finished as runners-up after going without defeat before the final.
On the other hand, Rangers overcame a 1-0 deficit against RB Leipzig in the Europa League semi-final second leg to make it to the title-decider. Angelino’s late strike separated the two teams at Red Bull Arena. However, at Ibrox Stadium, Rangers came out all guns blazing to secure a 3-1 victory and go through to the final. James Tavernier opened the scoring before Glen Kamara doubled the lead. Although Leipzig pulled one back through Christopher Nkunku’s volley, Lundstram’s goal then minutes from time sparked wild celebrations among the home crowd.
Frankfurt were hit with a major defensive absentee in the second leg against West Ham when Martin Hinteregger went off with a hamstring problem, one which is likely to keep him out for Wednesday’s clash. The German outfit should line up with a 3-4-2-1 formation with Ansgar Knauff and Filip Kostic occupying the wings.
As for Rangers, Filip Helander and Alfredo Morelos are sidelined with injuries and are doubtful for the final, while Ianis Hagi is not registered to play. Meanwhile Van Bronckhorst has announced that Kemar Roofe would be available for the final.
Eintracht Frankfurt possible starting lineup: Trapp, Toure, Ndicka, Tuta, Knauff, Sow, Rode, Kostic, Kamada, Hauge, Borre.
Rangers possible starting lineup: McGregor, Tavernier, Goldson, Bassey, Barisic, Kamara, Lundstram, jack, Kent, Aribo, Wright
The final fixture between Eintracht Frankfurt and Rangers FC will take place at Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan and it will kick-off at 12:30 am IST on Thursday, May 19.
The match will be live streamed on the SonyLIV app and website, and the JioTV mobile app. Meanwhile football fans in India can also enjoy the action on TV networks, as the competition is telecasted on the Sony Ten network.
