Freiburg will seek their first-ever major honour but are underdogs in Wednesday’s UEFA Europa League (UEL) final showdown in Istanbul, with in-form opponents Aston Villa led by a four-time winner of this competition in Unai Emery.
Freiburg arrive in Turkey with their tails up after rattling in nine goals across their last three matches (W2, L1), with those two wins coming against Braga (3-1) to book their place in this final, and against Leipzig (4-1) to guarantee they’ll be in Europe next season no matter the outcome here.
Boss Julian Schuster will be the youngest German manager to take charge in a European final in 24 years, but he’s not the only one short of experience as this marks Freiburg’s second major final in any competition, previously losing the DFB-Pokal final in 2021/22. They’re the first debuting German side in a European final this century, and a first-ever Champions League qualification will be theirs if they emerge victorious here.
European champions in 1982, Villa are back under the bright lights and they too arrive in hot form having netted four times in wins against Nottingham Forest in the UEL semi-final (4-0) before thrashing Liverpool on Friday (4-2). Their re-emergence as a major European player has seen no side win more games in major UEFA competition (26) than the Villans since the start of the 2023/24 season, while their place in next season’s Champions League is already secure whatever the outcome here.
They’ll carry plenty of confidence just from Emery’s presence, as this will see him take charge of a sixth major European final (W4, L1) and become just the second coach to take four different clubs to the final.
These sides have never met, and Freiburg have managed just one win from four prior meetings with English teams (L3). Villa beat two German sides last season and were last beaten by such opposition in 2008/09. English teams have won eight of their prior ten major European final meetings with German counterparts.
