Europa League quarterfinal action begins on Thursday, and favorites Barcelona travel to Germany to take on Eintracht Frankfurt in the first leg. Xavi’s men enter the match on a 13-game unbeaten streak and with a ton of confidence, facing a side that has struggled to score goals as of late. After a clutch win at Galatasaray in the round of 16 second leg, Barca will look for another positive display away from home to set themselves up nicely for next week’s second leg.
Here’s our storylines, how you can watch the match and more:
How to watch and odds
Date: Thursday, April 7 | Time: 3 p.m. ET
Location: Deutsche Bank Park — Frankfurt, Germany
TV and live stream: Paramount+
Odds: Eintracht Frankfurt +370; Draw +290; Barcelona -145 (via Caesars Sportsbook)
Featured Game | Eintracht Frankfurt vs. Barcelona
Storylines
Eintracht Frankfurt: Left back Christopher Lenz continues to deal with a calf injury, while numerous players such as Stefan Ilsanker, Erik Durmn and Enrique Garcia are not eligible for the competition. The German side enters the game winless in their last four games, having failed to score in two of them. But over that stretch they have only conceded twice
Barcelona: As usual, the club is without Dani Alves as he isn’t eligible to play in Europa League as he wasn’t registered for the knockout stage. Otherwise, it is the same old Barca dealing with the same injuries. Samuel Umtiti is expected to return this month, while Sergino Dest continues to deal with his muscle injury. But everybody in attack that plays regularly is available, and the expectation here is three points.
Prediction
Pedri and Ferran Torres fire Barca to a first-leg win and nearly stamping their name on a semifinal spot. Pick: Barcelona 2, Eintracht Frankfurt 1
KVSP