FREIBURG and West Ham United both got off to excellent starts in the Europa League group stages and they meet in Germany on Thursday in the second round of fixtures.
The Europa Conference League champions have started their English Premier League campaign encouragingly with four wins out of seven which have impressively included wins over Chelsea and Brighton.
It looks like there will be no repeat of last season's almighty battle against the drop for David Moyes' side.
They have hight hopes of doing well in the Europa League too – they are around fifth favourites to win a second European trophy in a row at 20/1. – and they were too strong for group outsiders Backa Topola in the first game.
Freiburg also got a win on the first day and served intent of what they are capable of by going to Greece and winning 3-2 at Olympiakos.
They also sit in the top half of their league with three wins out of six in the Bundesliga so far. Christian Streich's side have recovered from beatings from Stuttgart and Borussia Dortmund to draw at Eintracht Frankfurt and beat Augsburg without conceding a goal.
How the bookies view it
There's the proverbial rizla paper between the sides here according to the layers with both teams generally around the 6/4 mark.
But there is a touch of 8/5 around for the Irons with Coral. And you can get the same price for the hosts with Paddy Power. The draw is 11/4 with William Hill.
Recent head to heads
The clubs have never met before.
Players to watch
Italian striker Vicenzo Grifo converted penalties against Olympiakos and in their weekend win at Augsburg. He is 23/10 to score anytime with UniBet.
Czech midfielder Tomas Soucek is a Hammers' favourites and has already bagged three goals this season including in their first Europa League game and in their weekend win against Sheffield United. He is 7/1 with Paddy Power to score anytime.
Anything else catch the eye?
Freiburg showed what they could do with a win in Greece in the opening game and they could edge this one against a West Ham side, who may well have one eye on the visit of Newcastle United on Sunday.
The hosts may not be one of the great names in German football, but they have to be respected after finishing fifth last season and they can edge this by a goal in front of a raucous atmosphere at their Mooswaldstadion home at a chunky 7/2 with Paddy Power.
The corner count could be interesting here. It's set low at only over 9.5 with Boylesports and Freiburg had 13 in their first game in Greece and West Ham had 16 in their first game in the group.
This UEFA Europa League match between Freiburg and West Ham United will be played on Oct 5, 2023 and kick off at 17:45. Check below for our tipsters best Freiburg vs West Ham United prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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