Juventus hold a slim advantage as they travel to Freiburg for their Europa League round of 16 second leg clash. Another closely fought encounter is expected in Germany but the Turin club have impressed on their recent travels and should have the upper hand once again.
Freiburg head into Thursday’s clash looking to overturn a 1-0 deficit from the first leg. They will consider themselves lucky not to have lost by more having been on the back foot for much of the contest and failing to muster a single attempt on target.
The German side made a swift return to winning ways last weekend as they claimed a 2-1 victory over Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga. That result ended a three match winless run across all competitions.
Freiburg have also failed to win their last three matches in the Europa League. However, Christian Streich’s men will be banking on their recent home record having claimed three wins and a draw from their last five matches across all competitions at Europa-Park Stadion.
Angel Di Maria’s second half effort was enough to give Juventus the win in the first leg. While it might seem like a slim advantage, their defensive display will give them confidence of finishing the job on Thursday as they ensured Freiburg had no attempts on target.
The Turin club followed up that performance with a more flamboyant display as they claimed a 4-2 victory Sampdoria in Serie A last Sunday. Massimiliano Allegri’s men are now unbeaten in nine of their last 10 matches across all competitions, claiming eight wins in that run.
Juventus have also impressed on their recent travels, claiming seven wins from their last nine away matches across all competitions. That run had been driven by solid defence that has kept clean sheets in all seven victories.
How the bookies view it
Juventus have the edge among the bookies and are priced at 7/5 by 10bet to claim the win. A victory for Freiburg is valued at 11/5 by William Hill while Unibet is offering odds of 21/10 for a draw.
Head to head
Last week’s clash was the first ever meeting between Freiburg and Juventus.
Players to watch
Centre-back Gleison Bremer was impressive as Juventus prevented Freiburg from getting a single attempt on target, and should be pivotal once again. The Turin club have kept clean sheets in seven of their their last nine away matches and could be set for a repeat at 13/8 with bet365.
At the other end of the pitch, Angel Di Maria could be worth keeping an eye on after scoring the winner in the first leg. The attacker now has four goals in his last two Europa League matches and is priced at 19/5 by Unibet to find the net.
Anything else catch the eye?
Juventus have won to nil in seven of their last nine away matches and could be set for a repeat at 11/4 with BetVictor. A number of those wins have been one sided, which means a -1 handicap can be considered at 4/1 with BoyleSports.
Given Juventus’s defensive display in the first leg and on their recent travels, BTTS NO can also be considered at 5/6 with BetVictor.
This UEFA Europa League match between SC Freiburg and Juventus will be played on Mar 16, 2023 and kick off at 17:45. Check below for our tipsters best SC Freiburg vs Juventus prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
