Freiburg – TSC : Preview & Prediction
A disappointing start to the season has Freiburg outside the European places in the Bundesliga, but after a 96th minute equalizer against Borussia Mönchengladbach at the weekend, they at least come into this clash in good spirits. They also bowed out of their final UEFA Europa League match with a win by beating TSC Bačka Topola to put their qualification fate in their own hands.
The German side are behind Group A leaders West Ham only thanks to UEFA’s head-to-head tie-breaker rules, and still have a potentially decisive trip to the London Stadium on matchday six in December. Only the group winner will automatically advance to the Round of 32, so Freiburg would be wise not to look too far ahead, especially given that they have lost two straight home games in the UEL.
Before that trip to London, Freiburg must face both TSC Bačka Topola and Olympiacos. TSC is first on the list, a team that is making its UEL group stage debut this season and has had a difficult start to its group stage campaign, having taken just one point from a possible nine (E1, P2), largely due to the fact that it has allowed at least two goals in each of those matches.
On Thursday, Žarko Lazetić’s side will play in Germany for the first time in their history, after losing 3-1 in the match on matchday three. One positive for the Serbian side was that they took the lead in that match, just as they did in the engagement against West Ham before losing by the same score. Interestingly, the only UEL group stage clash in which they did not score first was at home against Olympiacos, where they picked up their only point so far by coming from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with the Greeks, proving that the first goal is not always key in TSC matches.
Players to watch: Freiburg’s Vincenzo Grifo is tied as the top scorer in the UEL group stage so far (four goals) after scoring a hat-trick in Serbia against TSC last time out, including the opening goal from the penalty spot. TSC has averaged 12.3 fouls per game in the UEL this season, with midfielder Ifet Dakovac responsible for most of them (7), although he has avoided picking up a single card so far.
Key stat: TSC’s last five away games in all competitions have had exactly two total goals.
Freiburg – TSC : Betting Tips
Freiburg – Win Odds: 1.25
