Oliver Glasner will leave Eintracht Frankfurt after the match for the DFB Cup title. © ANSA / Filip Singer

DFB Cup final: What speaks for Leipzig, what for Frankfurt?

“We have achieved incredible things,” said captain Sebastian Rode. The title wins in the DFB Cup and the path to the Europa League title in 2022 showed: Frankfurt can play big knockout games.

June 03, 2023

From: cst/dpa

Who will win the DFB Cup? The roles are clearly assigned: RB Leipzig goes into the final this Saturday (20 p.m.) as defending champions and Champions League starters. But Eintracht Frankfurt has earned a lot of respect after strong years in cup competitions.

That speaks for RB Leipzig

Leipzig is in top form in time for the season finale. There were five wins in the Bundesliga in a row, with the club's first win at Bayern Munich qualifying for the Champions League again. In addition, all the stars are fit again, the offensive with Dani Olmo, Christopher Nkunku and Dominik Szoboszlai can outplay any defense in the world. The fact that the second title beckons in a row is additionally motivating. “We have a huge chance to defend the title. Not that many teams have managed that,” said captain Willi Orban.

That speaks against RB Leipzig

Not much. The cup record against Frankfurt is negative, but RB only met Eintracht once. In 2019/20, the Saxons lost 1:3 to the Hessians in the round of 15. The XNUMX duels so far are completely even. Each team won four times and there were seven draws. The mood is likely to be against Leipzig; a Frankfurt majority is expected in the stands. “We know that Eintracht fans are very inventive when it comes to purchasing tickets and the stadiums are always black and white. But we will also have a few Leipzig players in the stadium,” said RB coach Marco Rose.

Good mood: Marco Rose wants to defend the cup title with Leipzig. © ANSA / Filip Singer

That speaks for Eintracht Frankfurt

Eintracht wants to give their coach Oliver Glasner a perfect farewell. In 2018, Niko Kovac won the title against FC Bayern in his last game as Frankfurt coach. The professionals have such extra motivation this time too, before the final act under the Austrian Glasner. “I think overall the team will have another jolt on Saturday because we have achieved incredible things with Oli,” said captain Sebastian Rode. The title wins in the DFB Cup and the path to the Europa League title in 2022 showed: Frankfurt can play big knockout games.

That speaks against Eintracht Frankfurt

Many key players lost their form in the generally weak second series. The offensive around Jesper Lindström, Daichi Kamada and Mario Götze was unable to build on the strong autumn. Too often, striker Randal Kolo Muani was left to his own devices. There has recently been repeated speculation surrounding Kolo Muani; the Frenchman is said to be being courted by Paris Saint-Germain and FC Bayern. The departures of Glasner and Kamada are fixed. You can only get into the Europa League with a cup win, which increases the pressure on the Hessians.