Eintracht Frankfurt are unbeaten over the last four seasons in their maiden clash of a league campaign, and have avoided conceding in the process (W3, D1). Furthermore, only one of Frankfurt’s last six league openers have yielded over 2.5 goals. However, their first ten Bundesliga battles in 2019/20 witnessed an average of 3.60 goals per game.
The first goal will clearly be key, as Frankfurt lost only one of eight league fixtures last season when opening the scoring at home (W7, L1), but won only one of nine when conceding first in home league action (W1, D4, L4). They were, however, the highest home scorers beyond the 75th minute, so they should finish strongly.
Albeit in a lower tier, 2.Bundesliga winners Arminia Bielefeld lost none of their last 16 league battles in 2019/20, with seven of nine wins in that sequence being accompanied by a clean sheet. However, Bielefeld head coach Uwe Neuhaus has a 100% losing managerial H2H record, being outscored 13-3 in the process.
Nonetheless, Neuhaus has a well-balanced side at his disposal, and notably, Bielefeld possessed both the strongest first and second-half records in the second-tier. However, they won none of five when losing at the interval (D4, L1), so a good start is paramount.
Players to watch: Last season saw Frankfurt striker Bas Dost net four goals in his five appearances against clubs promoted from 2.Bundesliga.
Bielefeld legend Fabian Klos scored four of his final five league goals in 2019/20 in the opening 20 minutes of play.
Hot stat: Frankfurt haven’t been involved in a league 0-0 draw since April, 2019, yet it was Bielefeld’s most frequent away league result last season, with that scoreline recorded on four occasions during their travels.