Preview: Another European campaign begins | OneFootball

Eintracht kick off the league phase of the UEFA Europa League against Viktoria Plzeñ. Hunger and excitement are high, as are hopes of a “special night”.

The backdrop

Head coach Dino Toppmöller wants his team to “stay hungry and make a successful start in the Europa League”, board member for sport Markus Krösche sees “an intriguing league with a lot of attractive opponents”, and Ansgar Knauff is hoping for “a special night” right at the start. The European stage is set – Eintracht are back in the Europa League. The Eagles are unbeaten in 13 games in the competition, having won seven and drawn six on their way to the triumph in Seville in 2022.

They begin the new league phase against Viktoria Plzeñ on Thursday 26 September at Deutsche Bank Park, with kick-off at 21:00 CEST.

After the 2-0 win at home to Borussia Mönchengladbach on Saturday, Krösche outlined the target for the league phase: “We want to qualify directly for the round of 16.” Eintracht certainly come into the European campaign with confidence after three wins in a row. “Now we finally get started in this competition as well,” said sporting director Timmo Hardung. “We’re in good form and believe we have both the physical and footballing tools. We’ve found ourselves as a team and are really looking forward to starting in the Europa League against Plzeñ on Thursday.”

With captain and goalkeeper Kevin Trapp injured, Eintracht have had to make a change to their list of eligible players (List A) for the league phase. Jens Grahl will take Trapp’s place in the squad for the duration of the injury – or at least 30 days.

The opponents

Viktoria Plzeñ, currently third in the Czech Chance Liga, generally battle it out with Slavia Praha – another of Eintracht’s opponents in the league phase – and Sparta Praha for domestic supremacy, as is the case again this season. Veteran coach Miroslav Koubek has been in the dugout since summer 2023 – his third stint in charge of the club – and led the team to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Europa Conference League in his first year back, where they were beaten in extra time by eventual runners-up ACF Fiorentina.