Freiburg dey carry one leg enter semi-final after dem hammer Celta Vigo 3-0 for Germany last week. Na Thursday dem go play second leg for Balaidos stadium for Spain. Celta Vigo get big wahala to turn dis tie around.
For first leg, Freiburg show say dem no dey play. Vincenzo Grifo, Jan-Niklas Beste and Matthias Ginter all score make dem win 3-0. Celta defence just scatter like say dem no get plan at all.
Matter don worse for Celta after dem collect another 3-0 beating from Real Oviedo for LaLiga on Sunday. Na bottom club wey dey fight relegation give dem dat beating for their own backyard. Dem don lose three from their last four matches, con dey concede 12 goals for dat period.
Claudio Giraldez team dey sixth for LaLiga, two points behind Real Betis. But their Europa League dream dey hang by thread. Dem need to score at least three goals against Freiburg on Thursday without con concede any.
Freiburg on their own side dey fly high. After dat big win against Celta, dem still beat Mainz 1-0 for Bundesliga on Sunday. Julian Schuster boys don win four from their last five matches for all competitions.
For team news, Celta dey miss Carl Starfelt, Mihailo Ristic, Miguel Roman and Hugo Alvarez because of injury. But Javi Rodriguez fit play again after serving ban. Oscar Mingueza, Ilaix Moriba and Borja Iglesias dey push for starting position.
Freiburg no get Patrick Osterhage and Max Rosenfelder because of injury. Daniel-Kofi Kyereh still dey work on fitness with their Under-23 team. Schuster likely go return to same lineup wey start first leg.
Freiburg defence don show say dem strong for Europa League dis season. Dem concede just four times for eight matches during league phase. Dat na second-best record for di competition. Dem don concede only two second-half goals for 11 Europa League matches dis season.
Celta get better record for first half of Europa League matches dis season with +5 goal difference. But after half-time, dem score and concede 11 goals. Dat one show say dem dey struggle to maintain control for second half of matches.
Borja Iglesias, Celta top scorer, don play seven matches without goal for club and country. Dat na another headache for Giraldez as dem need goals plenty on Thursday.
Freiburg likely go play defensive for second leg. Dem get three-goal advantage already, so dem no need to rush attack. Their previous three Europa League away matches produce just two goals for 270 minutes.
Celta don win four from their six European home matches dis season. But dem never win any by three-goal margin. Freiburg away record for Europa League dis season na one win, two draws, two losses. But both losses come by just one-goal margin.
Di last time Freiburg play European match for Spain na 2013-14 when dem lose 2-0 to Sevilla. Dis na different Freiburg team wey don show strong character dis season.
Celta path reach quarter-final no easy. After finishing 16th for league phase, dem beat PAOK for knockout phase playoffs, then knock out Lyon 3-1 on aggregate. But dat fighting spirit don disappear for their last two matches.
Freiburg reach last 16 directly after finishing seventh for league phase. Dem then beat Genk 6-1 on aggregate for last-16 tie, with 5-1 win for second leg at Europa-Park Stadion.
Di pressure dey entirely on Celta Vigo. Dem need miracle performance to turn dis tie around. Freiburg just need to protect their advantage and play smart football.
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