European Football returns to Spotify Camp Nou as Eintracht Frankfurt are the visitors to the stadium on Tuesday, kick off 9pm CET, on match day six of the Champions League initial phase. Hansi Flick's side are coming off the back of three consecutive wins in La Liga, a run that has propelled them to the top of the table, and now the challenge is to take all three points against the Germans to maintain the team's hopes of a top eight finish and a direct place in the last 16. 

Must win fixture 

Finishing amongst the top 8 in the league phase would allow Barça to bypass the play off round but with a total of seven points so far from five matches, they can ill afford to drop any more points. Hansi Flick's team are currently in 18th place in the table so three wins from their last three fixtures are a must for the blaugranes to move directly into the last 16 of the competition. 

A tricky opponent with a European pedigree 

Eintracht Frankfurt are coached by Dino Toppmüller and the squad boasts experienced talents like Mario Götze alongside promising youngsters such as Hugo Larsson and Jean-Mattéo Bahoya. The Bundesliga side tasted European success as recently as 2022 when they claimed the Europa League title, defeating Rangers in the final and knocking out FC Barcelona along the way. 

This season has been an inconsistent one for the Germans as they currently sit in 7th place in the Bundesliga after a chastening 6-0 defeat away at RB Leipzig in their last league outing. Scoring goals has not been a problem as only leaders Bayern Munich have more than Eintracht's total of 28 in the league this season. However, Dino Toppmöller's team have problems at the back and currently have the worst defensive record in the league with 29 goals conceded in just 13 matches. 

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In the Champions League they are down in 28th place in the table with just four points after one win, three defeats and a draw in their five matches so far. 

Recent meeting 

On their way to success in the Europa League in 2022, Eintracht disposed of Barça in the quarter finals. A 1-1 draw in Germany saw the blaugranes optimistic ahead of the second leg but a 3-2 defeat at Spotify Camp Nou saw the Bundesliga team through to the semi-finals. Tuesday's game will see just the third meeting between the teams in European competition. 

Missing 

Barça will be without Ronald Araujo, Dani Olmo and Gavi for the game at home on Tuesday but Marc-André ter Stegen could return to the squad against his fellow Germans after recovering from injury as hinted by coach Hansi Flick in his pre-game press conference. Eintracht will be without the injured Batshuayi and second top scorer in the Bundesliga this season Jonathan Burkardt. 

 

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