Can the Sport-Club avoid defeat in Limburg?
With 17 out of a possible 24 points from the Europa League group stage, SC Freiburg secured a direct ticket to the round of 16. KRC Genk almost managed the same feat, but as ninth-placed team, they had to go into the playoffs due to their inferior goal difference compared to AS Roma, where the Belgians eliminated Dinamo Zagreb.
The club from the province of Limburg is one of the most prolific teams in the competition. The Flemish side has already scored an impressive 17 goals in ten Europa League games, which is why Genk’s tip that the Smurfs can win the first leg against Freiburg is quite interesting.
After all, the Sport-Club does not particularly like traveling. Freiburg is only ranked 16th in the Bundesliga away table. The Black Forest team has won only two of its 13 Bundesliga away games in the 2025/26 season so far (three draws, eight defeats). In the Europa League, SCF has failed to score in six of its seven away games in knockout rounds, but interestingly, it has managed to achieve three 0-0 draws, which would also be a very good starting position now. In our opinion, most eventualities can therefore be covered by betting on the Breisgauers scoring a maximum of one goal in Genk.
Much will depend on whether the Sport-Club can contain the offensive power of the Smurfs. The Flemish side scored an impressive 17 goals in their ten Europa League games in the 2025/26 season, with 16 of those 17 goals coming in the last seven games. The focus is on Daan Heymans, who was signed from Charleroi last summer and has been involved in eight goals (four goals, four assists).
Those who are not afraid to take risks and are looking for higher odds on Genk against Freiburg can therefore also bet on the Belgians scoring at least two goals against the Sport-Club. Betano is offering odds of 2.25 for this.
Genk – Freiburg Head-to-head comparison / H2H record
Head to head: 0 – 0 – 0
There has never been an international competitive match between the two clubs before. While this is SC Freiburg’s first ever match against a Belgian club, KRC Genk has already faced Bundesliga teams eight times, but has only won one of those eight games (three draws, four defeats) – a 5-0 home win against MSV Duisburg in the 1998 European Cup Winners’ Cup. When German and Belgian teams have met in the knockout stages of European competitions, the Bundesliga club has prevailed in six out of seven cases.
Genk – Freiburg Tip
Overall, the Breisgauers certainly have a valid chance of reaching the quarterfinals, where Celta Vigo or Olympique Lyon await. At least in the first leg, however, the prognosis for an away win for the Bundesliga club against Freiburg is not looking too good. This is due to the Black Forest team’s poor form, having won only one of their last five competitive games (two draws, two defeats) and suffered eight defeats in 13 away games in the Bundesliga (two wins, three draws).
However, the Belgians are not doing too well at the national level either and, after 28 match days, are in a completely disappointing eighth place, which would mean they would have missed out on qualifying for the championship round as things stand. Therefore, we prefer to steer clear of the three-way system and instead bet on the Black Forest team scoring a maximum of one away goal in Limburg, which covers many eventualities at once.
