The head coach of Eintracht Frankfurt has confirmed that one of his starting players will play against Liverpool in the Champions League on Wednesday evening.
Both teams are expected to have largely full rosters. The home team has just two absences due to injurieswhile the Red only confirmed absentees are Giovanni Leoni and Alisson Becker, although Ryan Gravenberch is doubtful after missing today’s training in Kirkby.
Giorgi Mamardashvili will continue to act as a replacement for Arne Slot’s side between the sticks, with the Dutch tactician now knowing who the Georgian’s opponent will be tomorrow.
Eintracht boss confirms goalkeeper change for Liverpool
Eintracht boss Dino Toppmoller spoke to the media today ahead of Liverpool’s visit and confirmed that Michael Zetterer will start scoring, with Kaua Santos losing his place in the XI.
The 44-year-old said (via Bulinews): “We made this decision after several discussions because we felt it could be important for Kaua to take a step back now. He has had a lot going on lately.
“We have three top goalkeepers. ‘Zetti’ already played our first games and radiated great calm – he also did very well with the ball. That is why we made this decision. [and it’s] also in the interest of Santos.”
The goalkeeper change at Eintracht is no surprise
While it is not that common for goalkeepers to be substituted voluntarily for big games, Toppmoller’s decision to drop Santos is not entirely surprising considering his form of late.
The 22-year-old has started Eintracht’s last five games since returning from a cruciate ligament injury, but has conceded a whopping 18 goals in that time, including five against Atletico Madrid and four against both Union Berlin and Borussia Mönchengladbach.Transfer market).
The more experienced Zetterer fared significantly better in his four games before dropping to the bench last month, with just six goals going past him and Bayer Leverkusen accounting for 50% of those (Transfer market).
Their respective save percentages could hardly be more polarized – the 30-year-old has stopped 76.5% of the shots he has faced this season, compared to just 38.1% for Santos (FBref). The numbers make it clear why Toppmoller wielded the ax on the 1.80 meter tall Brazilian.
With Eintracht set to have a more reliable presence between the sticks tomorrow night, it means Liverpool will have to be much more clinical in front of goal than on Sunday, when they missed four ‘big chances’ and hit the post or crossbar three times.Bank score).
Whoever is selected to start in the Reds’ attack at Deutsche Bank Park, hopefully they can take advantage of the fact that Zetterer may lack match sharpness after sitting out the last four games.
You can watch Slot’s full post-Manchester United press conference via Kingdom of the Kop on YouTube:
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