Fulham vs Eintracht Frankfurt
Fulham and Eintracht Frankfurt will meet at Craven Cottage this Saturday evening for their final Club Friendly ahead of the 2025-26 campaign, using this exhibition game to build their confidence.
Marco Silva’s Cottagers are undefeated so far this preseason, as they’ve won against Nottingham Forest 3-1 and Al-Ittihad 4-2 last month. On the other hand, Dino Toppmoller’s Eagles are also unbeaten so far this preseason, having won 7-1 against Weimar, 3-2 against FSV Frankfurt, and 5-2 against Louisville City FC, while drawing 2-2 against Aston Villa and Philadelphia.
The pregame Club Friendly 2025 odds predict a close contest between these two sides, with Fulham having the slight edge because they’re the hosts. Football fans should get their fair share of Club Friendly 2025 highlights this weekend because the Cottagers and Eagles have been prolific in the final third.
Without further ado, here is the SBOTOP preview of this fun match.
Talking Points
Fulham have been quiet this summer
Marco Silva is entering the final year of his contract with Fulham, and the Portuguese manager was cryptic about his future at Craven Cottage. In a recent interview with O Jogo, Silva said he plans to take it one day at a time because he does not have any major long-term plans. Silva has criticised the front office for their lack of transfer business, which has been the case this summer. This has been a recurring theme during his stay at Fulham.
This summer, the Cottagers’ only notable moves are releasing Willian and Carlos Vinicius. They were once linked to acquiring Oleksandr Zinchenko and Samuel Chukwueze, but the potential transfers never gained traction. Newcastle United and Atalanta were reportedly interested in signing Rodrigo Muniz for at least £40 million, but again, nothing happened.
Instead, Fulham’s front office focused on retaining its core by handing extensions to Kenny Tete, Josh King, Benjamin Lecomte, and captain Tom Cairney. The team is also working on Harry Wilson’s new deal.
So, it’s safe to assume that Fulham will essentially have the same squad as last season, and Silva is banking on their continuity to make noise in the Premier League. While they’ve shown they can plunder goals, the Cottagers need to reinforce their backline, which has already conceded three goals in their last two friendlies.
In their most recent game against Al-Ittihad, Fulham raced to a 4-0 lead, as Harry Wilson, Emile Smith Rowe, Josh King, and Jorge Cuenca all found the back of the net in the first half. Former Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema made the scoreline look more respectable by notching a brace in the second half.
Eintracht Frankfurt retool their attack
After selling Hugo Ekitike to Liverpool for €95 million, Eintracht Frankfurt reloaded their frontline with the addition of Jonathan Burkardt, poaching him from Mainz for only €21 million. Acquiring Burkardt is a masterstroke for Die Adler because he was fourth in the Bundesliga Golden Boot race last season with 18 goals.
Burkardt is expected to shoulder the scoring load for Dino Toppmoller’s side. However, he’ll face some stiff competition from Elye Wahi, whom the club acquired for a hefty €26 million during the last winter transfer window. Eintracht Frankfurt fans should be encouraged by what they’ve seen from Burkardt, as he looks a natural fit in Toppmoller’s 3-4-3 formation than Wahi.
Unlike Fulham, Eintracht Frankfurt look far from done this summer transfer window, as they’re closing in on Ritsu Doan and Ko Itakura. Doan racked up 10 goals and eight assists for SC Freiburg in the Bundesliga last season, and Eintracht Frankfurt will only pay €22 million for his transfer. Meanwhile, Itakura is in the final year of his contract, and Borussia Monchengladbach may be willing to let him go for only €10 million. However, Dutch side Ajax are also one of his suitors.
History
Saturday marks only the second competitive meeting between Fulham and Eintracht Frankfurt. The first time these two sides met was in 2015, where Fulham won 1-0 in Irdning, Austria.
Fulham are fresh from an 11th-place finish in the Premier League last season with 54 points. The Cottagers have been in the English top-flight for three consecutive seasons, following their relegation to the Championship after the 2020-21 campaign. However, they never finished higher than 10th.
On the other hand, Eintracht Frankfurt finished third in the Bundesliga standings with 60 points, booking their place in next season’s Champions League alongside Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen, and Borussia Dortmund. This is their best finish in the German top-flight table in recent memory.
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