Freiburg, down by one goal from the first leg last week, will face Juventus on Thursday to make up ground and advance to the quarterfinals of the Europa League.
Team Form
Freiburg
Despite putting up a tough fight against Juventus, Freiburg ultimately succumbed to a 1-0 defeat in their recent outing in Turin. Although Juventus had several opportunities to score, Freiburg managed to rally toward the end of the match.
However, they failed to produce a single shot on target and only recorded one off-target effort throughout the game.
This lack of potency in the final third has been a consistent issue for Freiburg, who only scored 14 goals in 11 games in 2023. Despite this, they had kept up with the top four contenders in Germany for the first half of the season.
However, with Ritsu Doan’s 89th-minute winner against Hoffenheim at the weekend, they now sit fifth in the league and will likely secure European football for next season. Additionally, they remain unbeaten in 11 home games in the league.
Freiburg form (All Competition): W D D L W
Juventus
Juventus’ Di Maria has quickly made a name for himself in the Europa League this season, despite it being his first appearance in the tournament. He has already scored more goals than all but two players in the 2022-23 edition of the competition.
In the playoff round, he notched a hat-trick against Nantes and followed it up with another goal in last Thursday’s match at the Allianz Stadium.
In addition to their success in reaching the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia, Juventus has set its sights on winning the Europa League. They are determined to secure a ticket back to the big leagues of European football.
Following a nail-biting 4-2 victory over Sampdoria last Sunday, where they lost their two-goal lead in less than two minutes before staging a comeback in the second half, Max Allegri’s team currently sits in the seventh spot in Serie A standings. They are ten points behind the top four with limited games remaining.
Juventus Form (All Competitions): W W L W W
Squad Report
Freiburg
Daniel-Kofi Kyereh’s season has ended due to an ACL tear, and Philipp Lienhart picked up a thigh injury during the recent match against Juventus.
However, Woo-yeong Jeong has recovered from illness and may be included in the upcoming game. If Lienhart cannot return in time, Manuel Gulde may be given another opportunity to feature in defense.
Juventus
Juventus will have to contend without the services of Paul Pogba, who was dropped from the squad for the first leg against Freiburg due to disciplinary issues. Furthermore, Pogba sustained an injury during training while practicing free kicks.
The team will also be without Federico Chiesa, who is set to be sidelined due to injury.
Freiburg’s predicted starting lineup:
Flekken; Kubler, Gulde, Ginter, Gunter; Eggestein, Hofler; Doan, Gregoritsch, Grifo; Holer
Juventus’ predicted starting lineup:
Szczesny; Danilo, Bremer, Sandro; Cuadrado, Fagioli, Locatelli, Rabiot, Kostic; Di Maria; Vlahovic
Head to Head
So far, SC Freiburg and Juventus have played only one game against each other, which was the first leg of their match. Unfortunately for Freiburg, Juventus emerged as the winner of that game.
Time, Date & Venue
Date: Thursday, March 16
Time: 05:45 pm, UTC
Venue: Europa-Park-Stadion stadium, Freiburg im Breisgau city
Prediction
Juventus will approach their upcoming match against Freiburg with great determination as they seek to make amends for recent off-field issues and clinch their first European trophy since 1996.
The Bianconeri are likely to take this match very seriously and will be keen to build on their advantage from the first leg.
