Freiburg – Aston Villa

Fans will see at least two goals in the Europa League final.

On Wednesday evening, the Beşiktaş club stadium in Istanbul will be at the center of attention of the global football community. By tradition, the first European competition trophy of the season will be contested in the Europa League. The nominal host of the final will be Freiburg, the German club. This club has qualified for European competitions for the seventh time in the last 30 years, and for the first time advanced beyond the Round of 16 in the continental tournament. Freiburg's club museum is not rich, containing only four minor German trophies for victories in the 2. Bundesliga. The nominal guest for the final will be Aston Villa. The Birmingham club has reached European competition 18 times in the last 50 years. The Villans' best achievement was winning the main European trophy in 1982. Then in the European Cup final, Aston Villa defeated Bayern Munich 1-0. Also in the Villans' club museum there is a UEFA Super Cup trophy, seven league titles in England, and a total of twelve wins in the two domestic cups. The total transfer value of Aston Villa players, according to Transfermarkt estimates, is 2.5 times higher than Freiburg's. It would seem that the favorite for the upcoming match is obvious, but will the final be easy for Unai Emery and his players? Bookmakers consider Aston Villa's victory in regulation time to be very likely, offering odds of 1.65. Freiburg approaches the most important match in its history in good spirits. In the closing match of the season, the German side, at home, hammered RB Leipzig 4-1. This victory allowed Freiburg to finish seventh in the Bundesliga and put their strengths to the test under competitive conditions. Aston Villa, on Friday at their home stadium, defeated Liverpool convincingly 4-2. In the Champions League, the Villans qualified for the competition through the league, so they will be focused solely on the European trophy. Here, the Birmingham club has a special edge in Unai Emery, who before this attempt has won four Europa League finals with Villarreal and Sevilla, losing only one while at Arsenal. Interestingly, Emery has kept a clean sheet in only one of his five finals. The other finals featured between two and five goals. Freiburg's coach also understands that his team cannot win this final by defense alone. Let's bet on a high-scoring final.