Will Freiburg’s home winning streak come to an end?
SC Freiburg is in a European quarterfinal for the first time in its history, and we have a Freiburg vs. Celta Vigo prediction ready! Looking back at the other three German teams that reached the quarterfinals for the first time since the turn of the millennium, the record isn’t a good one from the Bundesliga clubs’ perspective.
In fact, Wolfsburg (2009/10), Hannover 96 (2011/12), and RB Leipzig (2017/18) were all eliminated. All of these defeats also occurred in the Europa League.
To break this losing streak, the hosts are counting on home-field advantage in their first matchup against the Spanish side. Freiburg has won its last nine home games in the Europa League!
Furthermore, Ajax Amsterdam was the last team to win ten consecutive Europa League matches at home between 2016 and 2021. The last German team to win ten straight matches in the UEFA Cup or Europa League was Borussia Dortmund between 1987 and 1993.
However, SC Freiburg faces a team from Estadio Balaídos that is their equal in terms of skill and has also impressed on the road with two recent wins in the competition. We therefore expect a close match and are opting for the Double Chance bet in favor of the visitors in the match between Freiburg and Celta Vigo.
The three-time winner of the Spanish second division should also keep an eye on Vincenzo Grifo on the SC side. With nine goals, the attacking player is Freiburg’s all-time leading scorer in European competitions.
Since the 2022/23 season, only Lorenzo Pellegrini (18) and Bruno Fernandes (15) have been involved in more goals in the Europa League than Grifo (9 goals and 5 assists). Currently, however, the visitors also have a particularly clinical goal-scorer of their own in Ferran Jutgla.
The former Bruges player has scored at least once in three of the port city club’s last four competitive matches. Given this tremendous efficiency, the odds for another goal by him in the match between Freiburg and Celta Vigo also look promising.
Freiburg – Celta Vigo Head-to-Head Record
Freiburg has faced a Spanish team only once so far. The matchup took place in the group stage of the 2013/14 Europa League, and SC Freiburg lost 0-2 to Sevilla both at home and on the road.
In contrast, Celta Vigo has won only one of its six European competitive matches against German teams (1-2-3). Their sole victory, a 2-1 win over Stuttgart in February 2001, came in the UEFA Cup. Furthermore, Celta Vigo has advanced past the quarterfinals in only 25 percent of its previous European competitions.
For the match between Freiburg and Celta Vigo, the betting odds now slightly favor a win for Coach Julian Schuster’s home side.
Freiburg – Celta Vigo Tip
The visitors should avoid falling behind against SC Freiburg. The hosts have won all five matches this Europa League season in which they took the lead.
On top of that, Freiburg is strong at home: they have won all five of their home games in the competition, and having conceded only two goals shows that their defense is solid in front of their own fans.
However, Vigo counters that home strength with impressive away performances in the Europa League. Last season’s seventh-place finisher in LaLiga has already won away at traditionally strong home teams such as PAOK, Lyon, and Dinamo Zagreb. In light of this, we see an end to Freiburg’s winning streak on the horizon, and for Thursday night’s match, we’re picking the Freiburg vs. Celta Vigo odds for a draw or an away win for the “Celestes.”
