Juventus welcome Freiburg to Turin in the first leg of their Europa League round of 16 tie on Thursday. The Italian side dropped into the competition from the Champions League after finishing third in Group H ahead of Maccabi Haifa but behind Benfica and Paris Saint-Germain. They then beat Nantes over two legs in the first knockout round of the Europa League.
Flying high in the Bundesliga, Freiburg earned their spot in this stage of the competition by winning Europa League Group G, taking 14 points from six games to finish clear of Nantes, Qarabag FK and Olympiacos.
Here’s what you need to know:
How to watch and odds
What to know
- Freiburg boast a sharper attack than Juventus. They have scored as many goals as their upcoming opponents (13) despite registering fewer shots on target (39 to 45), creating fewer chances (69 to 84) and completing fewer take-ons (34 to 64).
- Juventus use the ball with a great deal more confidence than Freiburg. They have taken more touches than their upcoming opponents (5,559 to 3,970) as well as completed more passes (3,554 to 2,406), passes into the final third (871 to 497), through balls (eight to two), long balls (247 to 226) and crosses (44 to 26).
- Freiburg boast a superior defense to Juventus — although the difference in the level of the competitions they have been competing in should be taken into account. They have conceded fewer goals than their upcoming opponents (three to 14), allowed fewer shots on goal (69 to 107) and won more aerial duels (94 to 86). It is Juventus, however, who have won more tackles (128 to 122) and interceptions (67 to 63) of the two.
Prediction
Juventus need to win the first leg of their clash against Freiburg but have had some issues in the recent games to score so it should not be a game with a lot of goals. Pick: Juventus 1, Freiburg 0.