Eintracht Frankfurt face Arsenal in the first match of the Europa League group stage on Thursday, and the two teams come into the game after very similar starts to their domestic campaigns.

Frankfurt sit in ninth place in the Bundesliga after four games, just a couple of spots lower than Arsenal – seventh in the Premier League after five.

Just like the Gunners, Frankfurt have had mixed results so far. They have a couple of wins against teams lower down in the division, as well as a loss to league leaders RB Leipzig.

The latter result was just as expected as Arsenal’s defeat to Liverpool. However, Frankfurt then dropped points at the weekend in a much more surprising manner.

Whilst Arsenal were throwing away a 2-0 lead against Watford, Frankfurt found themselves two goals down to Augsburg, who had only picked up a single point from their first three games.

Adi Hutter’s side did manage to pull one back, but they couldn’t avoid a disappointing defeat. Hutter suggested after the game that his team hadn’t woken up for the first half.

“We have overslept,” the Frankfurt head coach said. “It’s annoying that we go home with zero points. Augsburg had a great game plan.”

Arsenal and Frankfurt even came into the new season in similar fashion, having qualified for the Europa League through their league finish after elimination from last year’s competition by Chelsea.

Both teams will now look to their first European match of the season on Thursday as an opportunity to get back on the right track.