Full focus on Bundesliga – Tuchel expects 'top performance' against Frankfurt

FC Bayern München

·26 April 2024

Full focus on Bundesliga – Tuchel expects 'top performance' against Frankfurt

FC Bayern welcome Eintracht Frankfurt to the Allianz Arena on Saturday (live text and free Web Radio commentary from 15:30 CEST on fcbayern.com and in the FC Bayern app) for their penultimate Bundesliga home match of the season. All the info on the Matchday 31 clash is in the preview.

Here are the photos from Friday's final training session:

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The final training session before the home match against Frankfurt

On Friday, FC Bayern trained for the final time before the Bundesliga home match against Eintracht Frankfurt – the session in pictures.

The state of play for Bayern

It's only human that Bayern might have some thoughts of the Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid in the back of their minds ahead of the clash with Eintracht Frankfurt. Head coach Thomas Tuchel is aware of that, too: "I accept the background noises, but that won't stop us from putting in a top performance against Frankfurt. We have to do that because we need points," said the 50-year-old. A win over SGE would not only further cement second place for FCB, but also vanquish any lingering doubts about being in Europe again next season. If the Bundesliga is allowed to send more than four teams to the competition next year thanks to the league's good position in the UEFA coefficient ranking, the Munich men would already be guaranteed qualification anyway.

It's also about carrying the momentum from the victorious Champions League quarter-final against Arsenal and continuing the good recent run of three wins in a row. "We want to remain in the momentum we currently have," demanded Tuchel, who had words of praise for his team: "It's been a very good week of training, the energy is very good and the level is very high. You can tell the games against Arsenal gave us confidence."

Catch up on the key statements from Thomas Tuchel's press conference:

Tuchel before Frankfurt: 'Want to maintain the momentum'

The opponents: Eintracht Frankfurt

Frankfurt have the potential to put a damper on the mood of any opponent, as Bayern found out in the clash in the first half of the season. "That was obviously a top performance by all of us, we went to our absolute limits," said SGE coach Dino Toppmöller, reflecting on his side's 5-1 win in December. However, the Hessians haven't been able to reach that level consistently over the course of the season. Although the Eagles consolidated sixth place with the 3-1 win over pursuers Augsburg last time out, Toppmöller's men had only taken two points from their previous four games before that. On the road, they've won just one of their last six (D2 L3).

Even though they're in a good position with a decent lead over their rivals, Eintracht still need a couple more points to be sure of European football. "It's very important that we remain totally sharp," added Toppmöller. "There are four matches left, in which we want maximum success in order to achieve our big goal."

Here are the facts on the game against Eintracht:

The facts on the Bundesliga clash against Frankfurt

The team news for Bayern vs. Eintracht Frankfurt

Dayot Upamecano is in danger of missing out against the Hessians. The Frenchman "rolled his ankle in training and is a doubt for tomorrow", confirmed Tuchel in Friday's press conference. Saturday's fixture is likely to come too soon for wingers Leroy Sané (knock) and Serge Gnabry (hamstring strain), while Kingsley Coman (adductor), Sacha Boey (hamstring), Bouna Sarr (ACL) and Tarek Buchmann (muscular) remain sidelined.

More on the team news for Frankfurt:

Upamecano doubtful for Frankfurt clash

For Frankfurt, Tuta is back after suspension. Farès Chaibi has been ill during the week and is doubtful according to Toppmöller. Nacho Ferri has been ruled out with an ankle injury, along with long-term absentees Saša Kalajdžić, Mehdi Loune and Sebastian Rode (all knee).

What the coaches say

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