SC Freiburg welcome RC Lens to the Europa-Park Stadion for their Europa League playoff second leg with the tie perfectly poised. Having held out for a draw in France, the Germans will fancy their chances of claiming the upper hand in front of their fans.
Freiburg will be disappointed to have only earned a 0-0 draw after looking the better side in the first leg in France. They created the better chances and had four attempts on target but were plagued by poor finishing.
While the German side will be hoping to set things right on Thursday, their recent form has not been up to scratch. Christian Streich’s men are winless in their last five matches across all competitions and were held to a 3-3 draw by Eintracht Frankfurt in a Bundesliga fixture last weekend.
One thing that will give Freiburg some confidence ahead of Thursday’s clash is their record at Europa-Park Statdion where they have lost just once in the last nine matches. They also claimed back-to-back 5-0 victories over Backa Topola and Olympiakos in their last two home matches in the Europa League.
Despite playing at home in the first leg, Lens were second best throughout the encounter. They struggled to create much in attack and failed to muster a single attempt on target.
Lens head into Thursday’s clash off the back of another draw as they were held 1-1 by Reims in a Ligue 1 fixture on Sunday. Despite the recent run of draws, Franck Haise’s men are unbeaten in their last five matches, claiming three wins in that run.
One of the problems for Lens heading into Thursday’s clash is their record on their travels having picked up just three wins from their last 10 away matches. However, they are unbeaten in their last three fixtures on the road, claiming two straight wins prior to the draw at Reims.
How the bookies view it
Freiburg have the upper hand among the bookies and are priced at 13/10 by William Hill to claim the win. A victory for Lens is valued at 11/5 by Betfred while a draw is set at odds of 5/2 with bet365.
Head to head
Last week’s 0-0 draw was the first ever meeting between Freiburg and Lens.
Players to watch
Vincenzo Grifo could be worth keeping an eye on for Freiburg having scored three goals in his last six matches across all competitions. The attacker also has four Europa League goals this season and is priced at 5/2 by bet365 to find the net on Thursday.
Despite a quiet outing in the first leg, Elye Wahi remains the one to watch for Lens on Thursday. He is expected to lead the line once again and is priced at 5/2 by bet365 to get on the score sheet.
Anything else catch the eye?
Freiburg and Lens are expected to go for it on Thursday, which means both teams could be backed to score at 3/4 with bet365. The Germans saw over 3.5 goals last weekend and a similar outcome is priced at 12/5 with BetVictor while over 2.5 goals is valued at 19/20 with bet365.
The German side have scored in both halves in two of their last three home matches and a repeat is priced at 5/2 with BoyleSports.
This UEFA Europa League match between SC Freiburg and Lens will be played on Feb 22, 2024 and kick off at 17:45. Check below for our tipsters best SC Freiburg vs Lens prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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