With Roma‘s progress to the knockout round play-offs of the 2024/25 UEFA Europa League (UEL) far from assured, they have a lot at stake in their match against Eintracht Frankfurt. Following a 1-0 defeat against AZ Alkmaar last week, the Giallorossi currently sit in 21st place in the group stage. Since only the top 24 teams will advance, Roma must secure a victory or risk losing their spot in the UEL.
Last week’s loss to Alkmaar marked Roma’s first defeat in the UEL since Claudio Ranieri took over as manager in mid-November (W1, D1). Under his leadership, the team has generally performed well, with just two losses in their last 11 competitive matches (W7, D2). They also achieved a win against Udinese over the weekend. Roma has shown particular strength at home, where they currently boast a six-match winning streak. In European competitions alone, they have only lost three out of their last 45 major home games (W33, D9).
Their most recent loss came against a German team, so it’s important not to underestimate the Eagles, who currently sit in third place in the Bundesliga and start this round of the UEL in second place. In European competitions, they have won five out of their last six matches (with one draw), and in 2025, they have secured four victories out of five across all competitions. Their winning streak only ended on Sunday with a last-minute equalizer from Hoffenheim.
However, Frankfurt did recently sell their star forward Omar Marmoush to Manchester City. Marmoush had scored in all three of their UEL away matches before Christmas. It will be interesting to see how Frankfurt performs in their first European trip without him. Thankfully, Frankfurt has already done most of the work, as it would take an extraordinary set of results to knock Dino Toppmöller’s team out of the top eight and hinder their quest for a second trophy in four seasons.
Players to keep an eye on: Alexis Saelemaekers has been in outstanding form when playing at home recently, making a significant contribution to five goals (3 goals, 2 assists) at the Stadio Olimpico in his previous five starts. Can Uzun, on the other hand, only made his first appearance in European competition in October but has already made an impact in his last two matches in the UEFA Europa League, scoring one goal and providing one assist.
Interesting fact: Frankfurt has managed to score at least two goals in each of their last six away matches in the UEFA Europa League (winning 5, losing 1).
