SC Freiburg vs Juventus: UEFA Europa League Preview, Round of ...

SC Freiburg will have to overturn a 1-0 deficit if they are to beat Juventus and progress into the last eight of the Europa League and reach their first-ever European quarter-final.

But to do so they will have to beat European giants Juventus, who come into the game with a scintillating record against German teams in European competition, losing just one of their last nine European matches, winning five and drawing three.

Angel Di Maria was the match-winner in Turin and despite entering the competition late, only Marcus Rashford’s and Victor Boniface’s five goals have outscored the Argentinian’s four goals in the competition.

Juventus were hit with a 15-point deduction earlier this year after an Italian court investigated their transfer dealings, in what came as a massive blow to their Champions League hopes as they now sit outside the European places entirely and are ten points behind AC Milan in fourth. So, winning this competition could be the only chance that the Old Lady have of qualifying for the Champions League next season.

Juventus are in good form losing just one of their last ten games, a 2-0 defeat to AS Roma. The Italian side also have a strong record when they win the first leg of a European tie, as they have progressed from their last nine major European knockout games, the last time was against Fulham in 2010.

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All this adds up to Juventus progressing to the next round, but Freiburg also have their own European pedigree as they have never lost the second leg of a European knockout tie, winning two and drawing two. They have also managed to overcome a first-leg deficit before as they came from behind to beat FC St. Gallien in 2002.

The Europa-Park Stadion has been a difficult place to go and has been a fortress for Freiburg this season, as they are unbeaten in 18 home games, with their home form crucial to their position in the league.

SC Freiburg

Christian Streich has a relatively short injury list with only Daniel-Kofi Kyereh out of the game on Thursday night.

The Ghanaian damaged his cruciate ligament in February which has ruled him out until October.

Juventus

Massimiliano Allegri has a much longer injury list to contend with but has been boosted by the possible return of Federico Chiesa and Di Maria after they picked up knocks in the first-leg win. Allegri has stated that he does not expect them to start, but they could be used at some point.

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The Italian side will also be without striker pair Kaio Jorge and Arkadiusz Milik who have been ruled out until April.

Former Manchester United man Paul Pogba will also miss the second leg with Freiburg after suffering a muscle injury that has ruled him out until early April.

Experienced defenders with lots of European pedigree Leonardo Bonucci and Alex Sandro are also ruled out. 

SC Freiburg

Flekken; Sildillia, Ginter, Lienhart; Kübler, Eggestein, Höfler, Günter; Sallai, Höler, Grifo.

Juventus

Szczesny; Danilo, Rugani, De Sciglio; Cuadrado, Miretti, Locatelli, Rabiot, Kostic; Vlahovic, Kean.

Vincenzo Grifo (SC Freiburg)

Only Niclas Füllkrug (15) has more goals than the Italian this season with the winger scoring 12 goals in the Bundesliga. He is the top scorer at Freiburg with 14 goals in all competitions, and his directness and technical ability are integral to the way this Freiburg side play.

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With Juan Cuadrado a very attacking wing-back, Grifo could find space in behind the Juventus defender and cause problems for their backline.

Dusan Vlahovic (Juventus)

With World Cup Winner Di Maria set to start from the bench, there is added pressure on the Serbian to produce the goals to send Juventus into the last eight. 

The striker is having a profitable season having bagged ten goals for Juventus this season and setting up four with only Di Maria contributing to more goals.

His aerial presence will have to be dealt with by the Freiburg backline.

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Where will the match be played?

The match will be played at the Europa-Park Stadion in Freiburg, Germany.

When will the match be played?

The match will kick-off at 17:45pm on Thursday, March 16, 2023.

How can you watch the match?

In the UK, the match will be live on BT Sport 7 and will be available to watch across the BT Sport apps and on Sky Go and Virgin TV Go. Highlights will be available across BT Sports YouTube channels after the game.