Eintracht Frankfurt will be looking to end their Bundesliga campaign on a high when they play host to already-relegated SC Paderborn at the Commerzbank-Arena on Saturday.
Frankfurt had to settle for a draw against Koln last time out, whereas Paderborn suffered a 3-1 defeat to Champions League-chasing Borussia Monchengladbach in the penultimate gameweek of the season.
Match preview
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As the 2019-20 Bundesliga season prepares to draw to a close, Frankfurt realistically have nothing to play for at this very late stage of the campaign.
Adi Hutter's side cannot finish higher than eighth despite a strong set of results in the last few weeks - it was a string of poor performances earlier in the campaign that dashed their European hopes early on.
Die Adler have picked up wins in four of their last six Bundesliga fixtures, including recent victories over Hertha Berlin and Schalke, but they had Bas Dost's second-half equaliser to thank for their 1-1 draw with Koln last Saturday.
Frankfurt currently lie ninth in the table, three points adrift of Freiburg who prepare to take on an out-of-form Schalke side in their final game of the season.
Goals have not been the problem for Hutter's side - 56 strikes is the highest outside the top five - but 15 losses is simply too many for a team fighting for the top seven.
Hutter may use this opportunity to tinker with his side ahead of August's Europa League resumption; Frankfurt need to overturn a 3-0 deficit to Basel and they certainly cannot afford any long-term layoffs ahead of the European clash.
Meanwhile, Paderborn's fate was officially sealed as Union Berlin, whom they were promoted with from the 2.Bundesliga last year, enjoyed a 1-0 victory over Steffen Baumgart's side last Tuesday.
Baumgart did brilliantly to lead his side to two successive promotions in the last two seasons, but they were always facing an uphill task to compete against the best players that Germany has to offer.
A storming comeback in the final few weeks of the campaign never looked likely and Paderborn must now prepare for an immediate return to the German second division.
A brace from Lars Stindl helped Monchengladbach to a comfortable victory over the Bundesliga's basement side last weekend, but that match was of little significance for Paderborn, who were already down and out by then.
Baumgart's side have amassed a total of 20 points from four wins, eight draws and 21 losses, although one of their few victories was a 2-1 triumph over Frankfurt in the reverse fixture.
Eintracht Frankfurt Bundesliga form: WWLWWD
Eintracht Frankfurt form (all competitions): WLLWWD
SC Paderborn Bundesliga form: DLDLLL
Team News
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Frankfurt's Goncalo Paciencia is doubtful with a calf problem, and Gelson Fernandes could also sit this one out with an injury in the same area.
Midfielder Daichi Kamada is back from suspension and could feature from the opening whistle, and Japanese compatriot Makoto Hasebe is also in line for a return to the defence.
With regards to Paderborn, Uwe Hunemeier will miss the final game of the season following his red card against Gladbach.
Sebastian Schonlau remains out with an Achilles problem, and fellow defender Christian Strohdiek is doubtful with a hamstring injury.
Midfielder Sebastian Vasiliadis returns from suspension for Baumgart's side and could slot in alongside the young Antony Evans in midfield.
Eintracht Frankfurt possible starting lineup:
Trapp; Hasebe, Hinteregger, Ndicka; Da Costa, Rode, Sow, Kostic; Kamada; Dost, Silva
SC Paderborn possible starting lineup:
Zingerle; Kilian, Gjasula, Collins; Proger, Vasiliadis, Evans, Antwi-Adjei; Sabiri; Mamba, Michel
We say: Eintracht Frankfurt 3-0 SC Paderborn
There is no pressure on the shoulders of either team heading into the final weekend of the season, with both sides already aware of their fate. Nevertheless, Frankfurt are expected to have too much quality for Paderborn and we are backing a comfortable victory for Hutter's men.
Ben Knapton
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Eintracht Frankfurt win with a probability of 52.64%. A win for SC Paderborn had a probability of 24.57% and a draw had a probability of 22.8%.
The most likely scoreline for a Eintracht Frankfurt win was 2-1 with a probability of 9.73%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (8.86%) and 2-0 (8.17%). The likeliest SC Paderborn win was 1-2 (6.29%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (10.55%). The actual scoreline of 3-2 was predicted with a 3.6% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Eintracht Frankfurt would win this match.
