Champions League: Five reasons why Eintracht Frankfurt may beat Napoli in Round of 16

Last season UEFA Europa League winner Eintracht Frankfurt are up against Napoli in the UEFA Championships League this week.

Deutsche Bank Arena. bundesliga.com explains why they can get the job done against Napoli.

Muani on top form

That one's from the Thomas Müller book of puns - but Kolo Muani's earned it. The 24-year-old has been a revelation since moving to Frankfurt from Nantes in the summer, scoring 10 goals whilst producing a league-leading 10 assists.

The France international has found the back of the net seven times across Frankfurt's first seven matches of 2023 alone, including against top-four rivals Freiburg and league leaders Bayern Munich. And it was his two goals in the group-stage wins over Marseille and Sporting Lisbon that propelled the Eagles into the knockouts. Napoli could go full-blown Catenaccio, and they still wouldn't stop him.

Danger across the attack

Kolo Muani may be the star of Eintracht's front line, but a strong supporting cast has helped him to flourish. Daichi Kamada continues to shine and has seven Bundesliga goals to his name this term, as does Jesper Lindstrom.

And while Mario Götze has not often found the back of the net himself, his vision and technical ability are vital components of Oliver Glasner's set-up, while the arrival of Phillip Max on loan during the January transfer window gives the boss another threat to deploy. Such has been the form of Frankfurt's starting forwards, last year's UEFA Europa League hero, Rafael Borre, has had to make do with a back-up role this time out.

Collectively, only Bayern (61) and Leipzig (43) have scored more than Frankfurt's 42 in the league this term, and the latter have also used dead-ball situations to their advantage. Freiburg are the only team to score more often from set-pieces.

Frankfurt know their way around Europe

You would think a first-ever Champions League knockout tie would faze Frankfurt, but they are unlikely to be awe-struck.

After all, most clubs would be delighted with their recent European record. Last season's Europa League success will understandably live long in the memory, and they were only a semi-final penalty shootout defeat to Chelsea away from the 2019 final too.

Incredibly, they were unbeaten throughout their 2021/22 continental journey, and their two losses in this year's group stage mean they have been defeated just twice in 19 European matches under Glasner.

That run has included a victory over Barcelona at Camp Nou and, up against runaway Serie A leaders Napoli, the German outfit will believe they can move past a side that has never prevailed in a knockout clash in Europe's premier club competition.

Best Frankfurt yet

Whisper it quietly, but Frankfurt have actually improved on last season. Had they not edged out Rangers in Seville, the previous term may have been considered a disappointment - they finished 11th in the Bundesliga, while third-tier Waldhof Mannheim dumped them out of the DFB-Cup in the first round. As it stands, Eintracht are still well in the running for a top-four spot, and a DFB Cup quarter-final also awaits.

In the Bundesliga alone, they have seven more points, scored nine more goals, and conceded three fewer than at this stage last term, while they have only managed more than their current 38 points after 21 matches once in the top flight.

Frankfurt's Italian delight and Napoli's German despair

Given Napoli are 15 points clear at the top of Serie A, it is surely only a matter of time before they are crowned champions for the first time in 33 years. They have also looked irresistible in Europe this season, but their record against German clubs in competitive matches is far from stellar.

Although they prevailed in their last two games on German soil (2-0 vs RB Leipzig and 4-1 vs VfL Wolfsburg), they could not win any of the 10 before that. In fact, they have won just seven of their 22 fixtures against German opposition and came out on the losing side in both legs of their only previous meeting with Frankfurt in the 1994/95 UEFA Cup Round of 16.

The Hessen-based outfit, meanwhile, have often got the better of Italian opponents, losing just two of their 11 such matches, with the last defeat coming all of 17 years ago at the hands of Palermo, again in the Europa League's predecessor.