Europa League: Can Freiburg Exact Revenge on West Ham When it Matters?

SC Freiburg vs West Ham United

One of the most compelling ties here in the 2023-24 Europa League is the one between SC Freiburg and West Ham United. These two sides are going to meet two more times in the Round of 16, where the Black Forest will host the first leg and the Hammers will host the second leg.

SC Freiburg got this far by beating RC Lens in the Round of 32, while West Ham United were given the luxury to wait since they claimed the top spot in Group A.

While the Hammers have beaten the Black Forest in their group stage meetings, the pre-game SBOTOP betting odds predict that this is a toss-up.

Talking Points

SC Freiburg almost unbeaten at home

SC Freiburg will hope to find some comfort at home, where they have only lost three games in all competitions so far this season, although one of them came against West Ham United.

In their most recent game at the Europa-Park Stadion, the Black Forest managed to hold defending Bundesliga champions, Bayern Munich, to a 2-2 draw, which should give them confidence ahead of Thursday.

Against Bayern Munich, Christian Gunter scored for the first time this season, while Lucas Holer recorded his seventh goal of the 2023-24 campaign. Maximillian Philipp and Michael Gregoritsch came off the bench, and both will contend for spots in the starting lineup against West Ham United.

Michael Gregoritsch and Roland Sallai have led the way for SC Freiburg in Europa League goals this season with four apiece, while Maximilian Eggestein has three assists in this competition thus far.

Vincenzo Grifo remains the main attacking protagonist for Christian Streich and co. since he leads them with 11 goals and nine assists this season. However, he hasn’t really found his footing here in the Europa League, and the team needs him to have a huge performance against the Hammers on Thursday.

Bowen and Kudus will be crucial for West Ham United

After going winless in their first eight games to start 2024, West Ham United are back to winning ways, prevailing over Brentford and Everton with scorelines of 4-2 and 3-1, respectively.

The two main catalysts of their current winning streak are Jarrod Bowen and Mohammed Kudus, who just so happen to be the team’s top scorers with 17 and 10 goals, respectively, so far this term.

Bowen scored a hat-trick, including two goals in just two minutes, to put away the Bees, and he also dished out the assist on Edson Alvarez’s added time goal against Everton.

While Kudus didn’t find the back of the net himself in those games, he was the one who assisted on Bowen’s third goal against Brentford and Tomas Soucek’s added time goal against Everton.

Kudus has been a revelation for the Hammers this season, and the €44.5 million transfer fee that West Ham United paid for him last summer is looking like a major bargain.

History

West Ham United and SC Freiburg were the two best teams coming out of Group A, with the former claiming the top spot and the latter getting the second, and the Hammers beating the Black Forest twice surely helped.

Should David Moyes’ boys win again on Thursday, it’ll be the first time they’ve won three in a row against the same opponent in a single European campaign.

Both of SC Freiburg’s games against their English counterparts in European competition have been losses to West Ham United. They have also lost two times in Europe against Spanish and Italian sides.

The Hammers have won each of their last three games in the Europa League without conceding a goal, with the most recent being a 2-0 result over the Black Forest in December. In the said game at the London Stadium, Mohammed Kudus and Edson Alvarez found the back of the net in the first half.

Betting Tip

As mentioned, the Europa League 2024 odds predict a close fight between the Black Forest and the Hammers. SC Freiburg were given the slight edge at 2.37, whereas West Ham United are right behind them at 2.64, and a draw is at 3.12 in the 1X2 market.

There should be enough Europa League 2024 highlights to go by in this contest, as shown in their previous encounters, so check out Over 2.75 at 2.21, Total Goal 2-3 at 1.90, or even 4-6 at 3.39.

On the other hand, a Correct Score of 2-0 in favour of West Ham United is also on offer at 14.50.

 

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