Freiburg vs Nantes prediction: EUROPE: Europa League – Group Stage betting tips on match 2022-10-05 19:00.
For the first time ever, Freiburg lock horns with French opposition in European competition seeking to extend their impressive 100% start to this UEFA Europa League (UEL) campaign against Nantes. It’s not just on the European front where the Group G leaders are excelling, their 2-1 victory over Mainz at the weekend drew them level on points with Union Berlin at the top of the Bundesliga and extended their unbeaten league run to six matches (W4, D2).
It’s hard to find a chink in Freiburg’s armour at the moment, with five clean sheets across their last eight games in all competitions (W6, D2). Even when they do concede, Freiburg have found a way to outscore their opposition and doing so again here would see them take an enormous step towards a place in the UEL knockout rounds for the first time in history.
If Freiburg are coming into this game full of confidence, Nantes almost certainly aren't after being on the receiving end of a 4-1 drubbing against Monaco on Sunday. It’s now just one win in nine league games for Nantes this season (D4, L4), as they loiter dangerously close to the newly-expanded Ligue 1 relegation zone, though perhaps European action will serve as a break from the stresses of domestic football.
A grueling Thursday-Sunday schedule can perhaps shoulder some of the blame for Nantes’ plight, but fatigue alone almost certainly doesn’t explain their dismal away run of late, which includes a 3-0 hammering at Qarabag in this competition. The struggling Canaries have had their wings clipped on the road across their last six outings (D2, L4), and actually have an identical record across their last six away games in European competition too!
Players to watch: After two rounds, no player in the UEL this season has clocked more shots on target than Frieburg’s Michael Gregoritsch while all of his goals this season have come before the hour mark. Moses Simon is the only Nantes player to score in their last 257 minutes of away football and two of his three goals this term have been the game’s last.
Hot stat: Nantes have never drawn a game in UEFA’s second-tier competition (W8, L2).