Freiburg
- Freiburg’s form has been patchy since the last international break across all competitions with only one win in the last five, but they are eighth in the Bundesliga on 35 points from 26 matches, making this 2025-26 Europa League campaign the best route to continental success.
- The hosts’ recent results have seen them score and concede plenty of goals, but they could not find the net in a 1-0 defeat at Genk.
Genk
- Genk currently occupy a mid-table position in the Belgian Pro League after a hot and cold first half of the season.
- Hayen’s men edged out Freiburg 1-0 in the opening leg and just about deserved to scrape past Dinamo Zagreb in the previous round of the Europa League after extra-time.
- With their season a massive success if they progress further, Genk will want to dig in and defend, with their attacking options to make the most of any counter-attacking opportunities.
Head-to-Head
This is only the second time that SC Freiburg and Racing Genk will have faced each other in European competition, but it will be the first time Freiburg have made it to a European quarter-final if the Germans can overturn their 1-0 aggregate deficit from the first leg of this last-16 tie.
Key Players
- Vincenzo Grifo is the heartbeat of Freiburg’s play as he equals his best-ever scoring total for the club and provides lethal set-pieces.
- Schuster will need him to be at his best to break down a stubborn Genk defence, but the hosts have the pace of Johan Manzambi and Yuito Suzuki to get behind the visitors’ back four.
- Bryan Heynen is the engine room and playmaker in Genk’s 4-2-3-1 or 4-1-4-1, but they will miss the talent of El Ouahdi on the wing in the return leg.
- Aaron Bibout and Yira Sor should provide enough running and pace to stretch Freiburg out and exploit the extra space on the wings, but the absence of El Ouahdi will be a big blow.
Betting Insights
- Freiburg are priced at 1.56 favourites to secure the win on Thursday evening while Genk are listed as 5.6 underdogs with a draw coming in at 3.95.
- A bet on both teams to score - Yes makes more appeal at 1.73 than backing Freiburg to win at 1.56 here as this is a classic set up for an end-to-end, attacking game as the home side chase the tie and Genk defend the lead.
Prediction
We will take the draw option to boost the potential return from this game as the tie is finely poised after Genk’s 1 - 0 win in the first leg and both teams have shown enough vulnerability to suggest a home win for Freiburg will not come that easily.
