Eintracht Frankfurt vs Viktoria Plzen Prediction: Larsson & co can see off visitors

Eintracht Frankfurt are back for another crack at the Europa League, a competition the Bundesliga side won in 2021/22 when they denied Rangers in a penalty shootout in the final. They welcome Viktoria Plzen to Deutsche Bank Park on Thursday evening (20:00, TNT Sports 7) for their opening game in the revamped league phase of UEFA's secondary competition.

Frankfurt have made a bright start in the German top division, in which they finished sixth last season, and boss Dino Toppmoller will have strong hopes his team can take all three points here. Read on for my Eintracht Frankfurt vs Viktoria Plzen prediction and all the latest team news.

Team News

Frankfurt have worries over the fitness of goalkeeper Kevin Trapp. He was subbed in the win at Wolfsburg earlier this month and sat out the Monchengladbach victory since.

Mario Gotze also missed that game and he is a doubt, alongside teenager Oscar Hojlund, while Mehdi Loune is a long-term absentee.

Football Odds

The visiting side will once more be without the injured trio of Rafiu Durosinmi, Christophe Kabongo and Jan Sykora.

Eintracht Frankfurt vs Viktoria Plzen Odds

*Please click on the link above to be taken to the main Eintracht Frankfurt vs Viktoria Plzen page on betfred.com (or app) for all the live betting prices on this match.

Europa League winners when they last contested this competition two seasons ago, Eintracht Frankfurt are 1/3 favourites to begin their latest assault on the tournament with a win. Viktoria Plzen are heavy outsiders for three points at 8/1, while the draw is priced at 4/1.

Hugo Larsson was on target for Frankfurt in the weekend win over Borussia Monchengladbach and is 11/1 to score first here. Both teams to score can be backed either way at 5/6, while over 2.5 goals in the game is priced at 8/15.

Eintracht Frankfurt to win and under 3.5 goals @ 23/20

The absence of Gotze would be a worry for Frankfurt but it hasn't stopped them from making it three Bundesliga wins on the spin. They conceded 59 per cent of possession to Monchengladbach on Saturday but still ran out 2-0 winners to climb to third.

At home, they have a fine 2024 record with only two losses in 12 games so far. Plzen are six-time Czech league winners but have been third in the last two seasons. Their record against German sides is poor, with six losses in seven games and nothing to show on their travels.

Frankfurt should prove too strong for a side that was dismissed 3-0 by Slavia Prague at the weekend.

Only one of Frankfurt's four Bundesliga games has gone over 3.5 goals and it's worth adding some value on the home win by going under that target against a Plzen side that kept clean sheets in their last three European qualifiers.

Bet Builder – Eintracht Frankfurt to win, Hugo Larsson to score, Eintracht Frankfurt Over 5.5 corners @ 13/2

The second selection is a Bet Builder centred on Frankfurt winning and midfielder Hugo Larsson getting on the scoresheet.

The 20-year-old Swede, signed from Malmo in the summer of 2023, only scored twice in his first season in Germany but has now matched that tally after recent goals against Hoffenheim and Borussia Monchengladbach.

Last time around, he was mostly coming off the bench but he has started all four Bundesliga games so far and is really finding his feet. He showed a clinical side with his finish on Saturday and should get a chance to add to his tally here.

Adding Frankfurt to win and the home side to get over 5.5 corners completes this bet. They have averaged 5.25 per Bundesliga game so far, though that is held down by the Hoffenheim game in which they only managed one.

Offers

Place an In-Play single bet of £10 or more at odds of 1/2+ on any Carabao Cup or Europa League game on Wednesday and get £5 in Free Bets to use In-Play on Thursday’s Europa League games.

Acca Flex: Place a pre-match 5+ leg Football accumulator and get a CASH bonus up to 100% if all of your selections win or your money back as CASH if one leg lets you down.

You can read all our latest Football Betting Tips at our dedicated Betfred Insights content hub.