West Ham United - Freiburg predictions and free betting tips [14/03/2024]

On Thursday 14 as part of the second leg of the 1/8 Europa League final, West Ham will host SC Freiburg. The German team is heading to England's capital with an advantage of 1:0 score, meaning the Hammers need a win to advance further.

West Ham 

Last year's UEFA Conference League winner West Ham performed well in the group stage of the Europa League, taking first place in their group, ahead of Freiburg, Olympiacos, and Backa Topola. However, the English team lost the first leg of the 1/8 of the final last week (1:0), so they are under pressure on the eve of the second leg. Mihály Gregorich converted an inaccurate shot by Roland Schlaϋ into a goal on the 81st minute against Lukasz Fabianski. In the domestic league, the Hammers are in 7th place, four points behind sixth-placed Manchester United after a draw with Burnley last weekend. Before that, David Moyes' charges claimed two victories over Brentford (4:2) and Everton (1:3). 

The hosts have remained undefeated in Europe for 11 consecutive games, conceding only six goals in the last 10 domestic fixtures on the continental stage. All West Ham players are preparing for the clash with Freiburg in the best shape, with the exception of Máxwell Cornet. Left-back Emerson suffered an injury in the second half of last week's match in Germany but has recovered since then. Playmaker Paqueta (3 goals and 5 assists) helped his team equalise in the Premier League on Sunday and is certain to start as wingers, Bowen (14 goals) Kudus (6 goals and 2 assists) will definitely be attacking from the flanks. It's worth noting that David Moyes opts for experienced Lukasz Fabianski over Areola in goal. 

Freiburg

Freiburg, on the other hand, delivered an excellent performance last Thursday, winning their first leg by a score of 1:0. Thus, the Germans will hold a slight one-goal advantage thanks to Mihály Gregorich's precise shot. Christian Streich's team took second place in their group in the autumn, surrendering the leadership to West Ham. In the 1/16 final, the white-blacks barely managed to get past RC Lens (3:2 aggregate score), but in the Bundesliga, the club drastically trails behind the European zone: they're in 8th place, despite a 2:2 draw with Bayern Munich ten days ago. However, last weekend, the visitors claimed a vital victory against Bochum (1:2) on the road – Gregorich and Maximilian Eggestein scored the goals. Overall, Freiburg comes to London having won five of their last nine Europa League away fixtures. 

In the German lineup, Kjaer and Rosenfelder are out due to injuries, as are midfielder Keitel, Schmidt, and Austrian Linhart. Otherwise, Christian Streich can rely on a nearly identical lineup to last week's: up front will be Holler (7 goals), Italian Grifo (7 goals, 7 assists in the Bundesliga), and Austrian Gregorich (5 goals). The latter is the only Freiburg's player to score 5 goals in this season's Europa League. Key defender Matthias Ginter had to leave the field with 15 minutes left in the match against Bochum, but no serious injury was discovered.

Head-to-head

These teams met twice in the group stage, with West Ham winning both matches (1:2 and 2:0). 

Prediction for the match West Ham - Freiburg

After their defeat in the first leg, West Ham has no choice but to roll up their sleeves and try to turn the situation around. The Londoners undoubtedly wield a more formidable lineup and have lost just once in their last 13 matches in all competitions at home. Freiburg has already visited London in the group stage and failed to earn any points - I predict a similar outcome this Thursday.