There is a tasty battle brewing at the Doosan Arena in Czechia as Viktoria Plzen prepare to welcome Freiburg for a big Europa League encounter.
Both teams are yet to taste defeat in the league phase of the competition, and both will be looking to take a massive step towards the knockout stage this Thursday night.
Match preview
Viktoria Plzen head into this European fixture looking to overturn their poor run of form, with the team failing to win any of their last three outings.
Martin Hysky’s side kicked off the month of November by claiming a 2-1 league victory over Teplice – courtesy of a 98th minute winner – though that proved to be their last taste of success.
Since then, the Czech outfit endured a goalless draw with Fenerbahce in the Europa League, lost 5-3 at home against Slavia Prague, and squandered a two-goal lead against Jablonec in a 3-3 draw.
Scoring goals is clearly not an issue for Viktoria, who have rattled the back of the net six times across their last two outings, and 21 times across their last 10.
The real issue is at the back, with the team enduring an almighty defensive collapse which has seen them ship eight goals in 180 minutes of competitive football – a shocking run for a team that picked up four clean sheets from their six prior matches.
© Imago / Sven Simon
Speaking of heavy defeats, Freiburg will travel to Czechia on the back of a 6-2 loss to Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga last weekend – their heaviest reverse for some time.
The end result at the Allianz Arena certainly does not tell the full story, with Freiburg receiving a lot of praise for their bold approach – one which saw them take a shock 2-0 lead in the opening 17 minutes of the match.
Putting that result aside, the Breisgau Brazilians have enjoyed a tremendous season so far, especially when it comes to their Europa League campaign.
Freiburg are undefeated in their four European matches, winning three of their four outings, including a 3-1 success away at Nice just before the international break.
Julian Schuster and his men have won three of their last five matches across all competitions and will be looking to continue their continental exploits against their fellow unbeaten opponents.
Viktoria Plzen Europa League form:
D W W D
Viktoria Plzen form (all competitions):
W W W D L D
Freiburg Europa League form:
W D W W
Freiburg form (all competitions):
L W D W W L
Team News
© Imago / HMB-Media
Viktoria Plzen head into Thursday’s game with a couple of injury worries as Jan Paluska joins Jan Kopic on the sidelines.
Goalkeeper Martin Jedlicka kept his place in the team after conceding five goals against Slavia Prague, though shipping three more goals in the following match has put a question mark over his competency.
Midfielder Tomas Ladra has three goal contributions in his last two outings and will offer a lot of options for the hosts in the attacking department.
Freiburg’s biggest attacking threat comes in the form of Japanese forward Yuito Suzuki, who has four goal contributions in as many games – including two goals in his previous two outings.
Goalkeeper Noah Atubolu has not kept a clean sheet in three games, plus he conceded six goals at the weekend. Nevertheless, Freiburg’s first-choice keeper is expected to keep his place in the team for the trip to Czechia.
Midfielder Daniel-Kofi Kyereh has been out of action with a knee injury since February 2023, and while his return is coming into view, the player will remain on the sidelines this Thursday.
Viktoria Plzen possible starting lineup:
Jedlicka; Doski, Jemelka, Dweh, Souare; Spacil, Serv; Ladra, Valenta, Memic; Durosinmi
Freiburg possible starting lineup:
Atubolu; Makengo, Lienhart, Ginter, Treu; Manzambi, Eggestein; Grifo, Suzuki, Beste; Holer
We say: Viktoria Plzen 2-2 Freiburg
Both teams have shown defensive vulnerabilities over the weekend, which is certainly a good sign for the goal-hungry neutrals.
There is potential here for goals galore, and we are predicting a high-scoring draw over in Czechia.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
