Hamburg vs Eintracht Frankfurt: Terem Moffi to battle Onyedika – Preview, team news, predictions & H2H

Terem Moffi and Raphael Onyedika will take up direct opposing roles when Hamburg host Eintracht Frankfurt in the DFB-Pokal second round on Tuesday.

Moffi, who scored his first Bundesliga goal for Hamburg against Hoffenheim earlier this month, is managing a knee concern that leaves his involvement uncertain, while Onyedika has started all seven Bundesliga matches since his summer move from Club Brugge and arrives with no fitness doubts.

A third Nigerian interest adds further weight to the occasion. Jordan Torunarigha, deployed in Hamburg’s back three this season, gives the home side two Super Eagles players, but he hasn’t played for Die Rothosen this month.

Beyond the Nigerian subplot, both clubs arrive out of form and under separate kinds of pressure, Hamburg sitting 11th in the Bundesliga and Frankfurt 14th under Adi Hütter.

Match Radar: Hamburg vs Eintracht Frankfurt

⚽ Hamburg vs Eintracht Frankfurt
Competition	DFB-Pokal, Second Round
Kickoff	Tuesday, October 27, 2026 — 6:00 PM CET (6:00 PM Nigerian time)
Venue	Volksparkstadion, Hamburg
Where to Watch	Sky Sports (UK)
🇳🇬 Hamburg’s two Super Eagles players, Moffi and Torunarigha, face Frankfurt’s Onyedika in a tie with Nigerian interest on both sides of the pitch.

Form And Context Ahead Of Hamburg vs Eintracht Frankfurt

Hamburg have won three of their seven Bundesliga matches this season, a run that includes a 2-1 win over Hoffenheim on October 10 and a 1-0 victory over Cologne on September 19, either side of a 0-5 defeat away to RB Leipzig on September 13.

Saturday’s trip to Paderborn ended in a 0-1 loss, leaving Hamburg 11th with nine points from seven games and only six goals scored, one of the division’s lowest totals.

Eintracht Frankfurt have also been inconsistent, beating Mainz 3-1 on September 12 and Cologne 1-0 on October 16, but losing 0-6 at RB Leipzig on October 10 and 0-1 at Borussia Dortmund last weekend.

That run leaves Frankfurt 14th with eight points from seven games, only one place and one point worse off than Hamburg.

Hamburg vs Eintracht Frankfurt: Head-to-Head Record

Across the past 18 meetings between both sides, Hamburg have four wins with six draws shared, and Frankfurt with eight wins.

Hamburg won the sides’ most recent meeting 2-1 away in May 2026 and drew 1-1 at home in December 2025, meaning the Super Eagles duo of Moffi and Torunarigha arrive with a Hamburg side unbeaten in its last two meetings with Frankfurt.

The DFB-Pokal history points the other way. Hamburg have lost all three of their previous cup meetings with Frankfurt, most recently a 5-2 defeat on October 27, 2010, exactly 16 years before Tuesday’s rematch.

Team News and Predicted Lineups: Hamburg vs Eintracht Frankfurt

Hamburg

Hamburg’s injury list is substantial. Captain Nicolai Remberg will miss the rest of the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament.

Mario Vušković is nearing the end of a doping suspension that keeps him out until November 6, and Albert Grønbæk, the club’s top scorer in the Pokal first round, is sidelined with a thigh injury.

Moffi’s knee concern leaves him in doubt, while Nicolás Capaldo, Zakaria El Ouahdi and Patson Daka are also managing fitness issues.

Torunarigha, by contrast, has no injury concerns and is expected to continue in Hamburg’s back three, giving the Super Eagles a defensive representative even if Terem Moffi fails to recover in time for kickoff.

Eintracht Frankfurt

Frankfurt’s situation is considerably calmer. Only forwards Jessic Ngankam and Malik Pimpong are ruled out, both with injuries expected to clear by the end of October, leaving Hütter close to a full-strength squad to choose from, Onyedika included.

Hamburg	Eintracht Frankfurt
Nicolai Remberg — out, season Mario Vušković — out, suspended Albert Grønbæk — out, thigh Miro Muheim — out, groin Yussuf Poulsen — out, injury Fábio Vieira — out, thigh, back in November Terem Moffi — doubt, knee Nicolás Capaldo — doubt Zakaria El Ouahdi — doubt Patson Daka — doubt	Jessic Ngankam — out, thigh Malik Pimpong — out, injury

Star Player Comparison: Terem Moffi vs Raphael Onyedika

Terem Moffi Striker · Hamburg	Stat	Raphael Onyedika Defensive Midfielder · Eintracht Frankfurt
1	Goals	0
0	Assists	0
7	Appearances	7
248	Minutes Played	630

The Managers: Merlin Polzin vs Adi Hütter

Polzin, 34, took permanent charge of Hamburg in November 2024 and led the club back to the Bundesliga in his first full season, keeping them in the following year, a result that earned him a new long-term contract this past summer despite the rocky start to the current campaign.

Hütter, 56, was brought in by sporting director Markus Krösche to stabilise a Frankfurt squad built to push for a European place.

The 6-0 defeat at Leipzig produced the most uncomfortable moment of his spell so far, substituting captain Robin Koch at half-time, though he has since backed Koch publicly and confirmed he keeps both his starting place and the armband against Hamburg.

Tactical Preview: How Onyedika plans to contain Moffi

Frankfurt’s 4-4-2 gives Onyedika license to sit just in front of the back line, screening the space between Hamburg’s midfield three and whichever forward partnership Polzin fields.

If Moffi does start alongside Otto Stange, Onyedika’s job becomes containing a striker who scored his first goal by attacking the space behind a high defensive line, rather than dropping into midfield to collect the ball himself.

Hamburg’s own 3-5-2, built around wing-backs Torunarigha and David Møller Wolfe, will look to overload the flanks against a Frankfurt back four missing neither fullback to suspension or injury, which should make Baum and Kosugi’s positioning as important to Frankfurt’s night as anything Onyedika does centrally.

The Naija Slip: Hamburg vs Eintracht Frankfurt Tips

Score Prediction: Hamburg vs Eintracht Frankfurt

🔮 Hamburg 1-2 Eintracht Frankfurt

Frankfurt’s greater squad depth should tell late on, even with Onyedika shutting down Hamburg’s central striker for long spells. Likely scorers: Jonathan Burkardt, Younes Ebnoutalib (Frankfurt); Otto Stange (Hamburg).