Preview: “Give our all from minute one to 90” | OneFootball

Dino Toppmöller is demanding a committed performance from his side when they travel to Leipzig on Sunday in their final away game of 2024.

Backdrop

Eintracht Frankfurt travel to Leipzig in the Bundesliga at 19:30 CET on Sunday, in a repeat of the DFB Cup last-16 tie between the sides just 11 days earlier. Both teams know they will be competing on only two fronts in the new year, after Leipzig booked a cup quarter-final spot at Eintracht’s expense on 4 December before a 3-2 home defeat to Aston Villa ended their hopes of a place in the UEFA Champions League knockout stages.

The Eagles also lost 3-2 at Lyon but remain on course for the UEFA Europa League knockout stages with 13 points so far, leaving them fifth in the standings. In the Bundesliga, Dino Toppmöller’s side are second with 27 points to their name, three more than fourth-placed Leipzig.

Looking back

“We didn’t play well in Leipzig in the cup and deserved to lose,” said Kevin Trapp, reflecting on that 3-0 reverse in an interview with RTL on Thursday. However, the Eagles goalkeeper insists their DFB Cup exit should not be viewed through the same lens as last Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Augsburg and the midweek loss in Lyon. “The team isn’t tired,” he continued. “Against Augsburg we were firmly in the game and could have got the win. It’s a tough period at the moment with a lot of games, but I think the team are in good shape and doing well.”

Toppmöller echoed his skipper’s sentiments: “It’s nothing to do with energy levels, even if the workload is very tough at the moment. Even so, everyone gave their all from kick-off [against Lyon] and ended up showing what they were made of.”

Ekitiké in top form

Hugo Ekitiké is in particularly impressive form, having scored or assisted at least once in each of his past five Bundesliga appearances – equalling a personal best. Indeed, the Frenchman is the only Bundesliga player in 2024 to score or assist in five straight top-flight games on two separate occasions.

Leipzig, though, have improved defensively of late and kept their eighth league clean sheet of the season in the recent 2-0 victory over Holstein Kiel – a Bundesliga high.

“We have to recover now,” added Toppmöller. “We’re hoping that Tuta [having come off with a knock against Lyon] will be involved this weekend. Hugo Larsson is likely to return – everything’s gone according to plan with him. That means we can call upon a few fresh legs and give our all from minute one to 90 on Sunday.”