Freiburg vs Lens prediction: EUROPE: Europa League – Play Offs betting tips on match 2024-02-21 17:45.
Following a goalless stalemate in France last week, Freiburg will welcome Lens to the Black Forest looking to progress to the last 16 of the UEFA Europa League for the second season running. The Breisgau Brazilians faced French opponents for the first time just last season, but they remain unbeaten after three encounters against such sides, scoring six times and never conceding (W2, D1).
Continuing that solid form is crucial to manoeuvring this play-off round, and considering they won their final two home group games by 5-0 scorelines, the Germans should be confident of doing so. Things haven’t been going quite so well on the domestic front, as Freiburg had to pick themselves up to equalise three times against Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday to avoid the ignominy of losing four straight Bundesliga matches (D1, L3).
In contrast, Lens were denied the pleasure of a four-game winning run in Ligue 1 as they played out a 1-1 draw against Reims. Attention swiftly turns to the small matter of improving on a respectable record against German opponents (W5, D5, L4) in order to make it to a first UEL round of 16 appearance in the club’s storied history, although ending a three-game scoring drought away to German sides is almost certainly a must (D2, L1).
That scoreless record pales in comparison to the mammoth 14-match run of UEFA away games that Lens have failed to win ahead of this latest attempt (D7, L7). From four previous occasions that Lens drew a home first leg in European competition, they did manage to progress on aggregate in each of the last two. But if this tie is destined to go all the way, it would interestingly be Lens’ very first involvement in a European penalty shootout!
Key battle: All three of Michael Gregoritsch’s UEL goals this season came in their last such home game, meaning that five of his seven competitive strikes this season came here and include two match openers. Trying to stop him will be his former Augsburg teammate and now-Lens centre-back Kevin Danso, who kept his first clean sheet against Freiburg in the reverse (D2, L2).
Hot stat: Five of Freiburg’s last six competitive matches saw goals scored in both halves.