Preview: Holstein Kiel | OneFootball

The Eagles face the Storks in the Bundesliga for the first time when they travel north to the Holstein-Stadion at 15:30 CEST on Sunday.

The backdrop

After Thursday’s 3-3 draw against Viktoria Plzeň, head coach Dino Toppmöller said: “Today, we’ve turned our attention on what lies ahead – our full focus is on Kiel and getting a fourth Bundesliga win in a row. We’ll do all we can to achieve that.” That, in a nutshell, is Eintracht’s mindset ahead of the trip to promoted side Holstein Kiel. The result against Plzeň was a disappointing one, but the Eagles have been in consistent form domestically, picking up nine points from their first four league games – their strongest start since the 2016/17 season. Toppmöller’s team face Kiel for the first time in the Bundesliga on Sunday. Eintracht’s opponents have had a full week of training since their last game but have made a slow start in the top flight, picking up just one point and conceding 13 goals – more than any other team in the division. The Storks held VfL Bochum to a 2-2 draw last time out but were beaten 6-1 by Bayern Munich and 2-0 by VfL Wolfsburg in their two home games so far. However, they did beat second-division Hamburger SV 1-0 in friendly earlier this season.

Storks’ promotion euphoria dampened

Despite their tough start, the Eagles boss was full of praise for his opposite number Marcel Rapp. “They have a clear structure when in possession and a good philosophy,” he said. “They get the ball forward in a tidy manner and try to create chances. It’s a great approach – they’re doing a great job there.”

Kiel’s form in Bundesliga 2 last season shows exactly what they’re capable of – they had the strongest home record in the second division in 2023/24. This term, the Storks are pinning most of their attacking hopes on Shuto Machino, who has struck twice in the league and once in the DFB Cup so far. In Omar Marmoush and Hugo Ekitiké, though, Eintracht have two in-form strikers of their own.