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Sports Mole previews Saturday's pre-season friendly between Eintracht Frankfurt and Aston Villa, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Both commencing a three-match pre-season tour of the USA, Aston Villa and Eintracht Frankfurt face off at the Lynn Family Stadium in Louisville on Saturday.

Unai Emery has overseen a pair of dampening losses in the Lions' warm-up period so far, while the Bundesliga outfit recently trumped local rivals FSV Frankfurt in a five-goal thriller.

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Match preview

The Lionesses of England Women are roaring at the European Championships, but the Lions of Aston Villa have been largely toothless in pre-season so far, losing both of their first two tune-up fixtures.

Emery's men kicked off their summer preparations with a 1-0 defeat at the hands of League Two Walsall, before travelling to Germany for a showdown with Hansa Rostock on July 19, where the third-tier side sprung an almighty surprise.

Jacob Ramsey struck first for a Villa side also boasting Ross Barkley, Tyrone Mings, Pau Torres, Boubacar Kamara and new goalkeeper Marco Bizot, but Hansa Rostock remarkably turned the tide to win 3-1 on their own patch.

In fairness, Villa's second-half XI mainly comprised youth products bereft of any Premier League experience, whereas Emery will be working with his core of established stars across the Atlantic.

The Europa League-bound - at least for now - Lions also take on MLS outfits St Louis City and Nashville during their American stopover, before a trio of tantalising European friendlies with Roma, Marseille and Emery's former club Villarreal to conclude their summer preparations.

Villa were bestowed with a spot in the Europa League thanks to Crystal Palace being kicked out of the competition over a multi-club ownership dispute - the Eagles have since lodged an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport - but one thing that is for certain is Frankfurt's place at Europe's top table.

Dino Toppmoller led Die Adler to a Bundesliga bronze medal in the 2024-25 campaign, as Frankfurt secured a route into the Champions League league phase with a third-placed finish, only performing worse than champions Bayern Munich and dethroned Bayer Leverkusen.

Frankfurt navigated their final five games of the season unbeaten after experiencing Europa League heartbreak at the hands of eventual winners Tottenham Hotspur in the quarter-finals, and to say that they have started as they mean to continue in pre-season would be an understatement.

Toppmoller's side have netted an astronomical 24 goals in their three friendlies so far; 14 alone against FSV Geislitz 1947, seven against SC Weimar 1903 and another three in a 3-2 success over FSV Frankfurt on July 19.

However, sterner tests now await for an Adler side who will play their first match since the departure of Hugo Ekitike, whose joint-record move to Liverpool was confirmed on Wednesday night; his €95m (£82.4m) fee matches the amount Frankfurt pocketed for Paris Saint-Gerrmain's Randal Kolo Muani two years ago.

Eintracht Frankfurt friendly form:

Aston Villa friendly form:

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Team News

Aston Villa did not directly confirm which players had been summoned for their pre-season tour, but number one goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez was pictured boarding the plane amid intense speculation over a possible move to Manchester United.

The Argentine can therefore be expected to guard the posts on Saturday, but Ollie Watkins - who withdrew from June's England squad with a minor thigh injury - was nowhere to be seen in the official Villa images.

That is certainly not to say that the ex-Brentford man is absent, but the door may be open for new signing Zepiqueno Redmond to make his mark in the first XI.

Meanwhile, Frankfurt are understandably yet to put their Ekitike money to good use, but the Frenchman's exit offers ex-Chelsea striker Michy Batshuayi the chance to stake his claim for regular starts.

With Elye Wahi and Jonathan Burkardt also jostling for position up front, Frankfurt's forward line is in good hands, although another striker - Jessic Ngankam - is still sidelined with a leg fracture.

Kaua Santos (ACL), Arthur Theate (arm), Mario Gotze (muscle) and Tuta (muscle) are also absent, but highly-rated midfielder Hugo Larsson has recovered from a cold and should be available.

Eintracht Frankfurt possible starting lineup:

Trapp; Buta, Koch, Amenda; Kristensen, Skhiri, Larsson, Nkounkou; Knauff, Uzun; Burkardt

Aston Villa possible starting lineup:

Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Moreno; Onana, Tielemans; Ramsey, McGinn, Malen; Redmond

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We say: Eintracht Frankfurt 2-2 Aston Villa

 

An Ekitike-less Frankfurt have been making nets bulge for fun so far this summer, and their goalscoring luck may not entirely run out against a Villa side yet to truly get going again in pre-season.

However, Emery's attack should quickly click into gear again in Kentucky, and an entertaining end-to-end affair on Saturday could result in a split of the spoils.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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