Genk are set to host Freiburg in the first leg of their Europa League round of 16 tie. The match will take place at Cegeka Arena.
Genk’s Route to the Round of 16
Genk had to navigate a playoff tie against Dinamo Zagreb to reach this stage, emerging as 6-4 winners on aggregate. They won the first leg 3-1, but were taken to extra-time in the second leg after a 3-3 draw. Genk ended the league phase with 16 points, one fewer than their upcoming opponents.
The club have been porous at the back, conceding 10 goals in their past seven Europa League matches, and eight in their last four in all competitions. Head coach Nicky Hayen oversaw three defeats within 90 minutes in those four fixtures, though his team did win six of their prior seven outings.
Blue-White have been exceptional on the road in Europe, emerging as victors in five of their six away matches in the competition this season while only losing once.
Freiburg’s Form and European Journey
Freiburg finished seventh in the league phase and automatically advanced to the knockouts. They ended the league phase having scored 10 goals and conceded four.
Breisgau-Brasilianer are eighth in the Bundesliga following their 3-3 stalemate with Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday, a game in which they twice surrendered one-goal leads. That draw was the third time in four matches that they failed to win, as well as the third clash in four games that they conceded at least two goals in, with the visitors losing two of those contests.
Julian Schuster’s side have struggled on the road, losing five, drawing one and winning just one of their seven most recent clashes on their travels. The German side have failed to find the back of the net inside 90 minutes in their last five away fixtures.
Team News and Expected Lineups
Genk forwards Robin Mirisola and Daan Heymans featured last time out in Europe, with the latter finding the back of the net. Midfielders Nikolas Sattlberger and Konstantinos Karetsas are likely to start ahead of a four-man defence marshalled by central defenders Mujaid Sadick and Matte Smets.
Freiburg only have two injury concerns heading into their clash with Genk, with defenders Max Rosenfelder and Lukas Kubler expected to miss out. Midfielder Maximilian Eggestein is suspended due to a red card. Matthias Ginter and Bruno Ogbus will likely be stationed as centre-backs, while Philipp Treu and Christian Gunter are set to start as full-backs. Patrick Osterhage is a candidate to come into the XI.
- Genk have scored at least two goals in four consecutive European games.
- Freiburg’s offensive record in the league phase saw them score 10 goals.
- Freiburg have failed to score inside 90 minutes in their last five away fixtures.
Freiburg’s Europa League quest continues on Thursday against hosts Genk.