The Europa League was long regarded by the German clubs as a stepchild. Now, for the first time since the premiere in the 2009/10 season, a Bundesliga trio could reach the round of 16 again.
Frankfurt / Main (dpa) - It has been ten years since the Bundesliga was represented for the first and last time with three clubs in the round of 16 of the Europa League.
At the premiere of the competition, Hamburger SV, Werder Bremen and VfL Wolfsburg survived the first knockout stage. HSV is now kicking in the second division, Werder is fighting against relegation - only Wolfsburg, alongside Eintracht Frankfurt and Bayer Leverkusen, will be one of the hopefuls of Germany on 2020 on the somewhat smaller international football stage.
After the first legs won in the intermediate round, the trio hopes for a closed entry into the round of 16, which would temporarily crown the Bundesliga's perfect European record so far. After all, the three Champions League starters Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig also consistently won in the first knockout round of the premier class.
Last year's semi-finalist Eintracht Frankfurt took the most comfortable cushion in the second leg at RB Salzburg this Thursday (9:00 p.m. / RTL and DAZN). Despite the 4-1 home success a week ago, the Hessians flew to Mozart City on Wednesday with a slightly queasy feeling. "We have to make it 4: 1," said coach Adi Hütter.
If his professionals act as weakly as in the first half of the Bundesliga game against Union Berlin, which they lost 1-2, then Servus. After the big rotation last Monday, the 50-year-old will therefore again be offering his senior team. New signing Stefan Ilsanker warned: "We must not let up, the matter is not over yet."
It is a homecoming for both. Hütter, who led the Salzburg team to the championship and cup victory in Austria in the 2014/15 season, still has his family focus nearby. And Ilsanker, who also won the double, was born just a few kilometers away from Salzburg. Hütter therefore hopes for a successful trip: "If we play like in the first leg, I am 100 percent convinced that we will get ahead."
Bayer Leverkusen are very optimistic, although the Werkself only won the first leg against FC Porto 2-1. "We want to go a long way in this competition. We want to take the first step in Porto," said sports director Rudi Völler on Wednesday before the departure for the port city in northern Portugal.
In addition to Kevin Volland (Syndesmoseriss), Charles Aranguiz, who was ill, was also not on board. Nevertheless, Völler sprayed optimism: "We generally go to Porto with a good feeling. Our antennas went out after the 2-1 in the first leg - that's a dangerous result. I expect an open exchange of blows."
For VfL Wolfsburg, the European trip at Malmö FF should not end prematurely. The Lower Saxony want to defend their 2-1 lead from the first leg at the home club of Sweden's football icon Zlatan Ibrahimović. "We worked hard last season to be able to play there now," said midfielder Yannick Gerhardt, adding: "We have a good starting position."
Scheduled intermediate round Europa League
