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Freiburg vs West Ham betting tips, BuildABet, best bets and preview
Football betting tips: Europa League
2pts Mohammed Kudus to have 2+ shots on target at 5/1 (bet365)
It's the third meeting between Freiburg and West Ham in this competition this season.
The duo who finished in the top two of Group A have been paired together again in the round of 16 - a competitive-looking fixture that could go either way.
David Moyes' side will be full of confidence though having won both of those previous contests. They also come into the first leg on the back of two Premier League victories in which they've scored seven goals.
Freiburg, meanwhile, have failed to win in regular time across their last eight in all competitions. There's an opportunity here for West Ham to hold a lead ahead of the second leg next week.
What are the best bets?
It would be far to say that the Bundesliga outfit have struggled defensively in recent outings.
Across Freiburg's last four games, they've conceded nine goals (factoring in 90 minutes only), with a huge total of 29 shots on target against across that period.
West Ham have the talent within their attack to exploit this, and there are a few candidates you can look at across the markets.
One to focus on though is MOHAMMED KUDUS, with a best price of 5/1 available on 2+ SHOTS ON TARGET.
The winger found the net in the last meeting between the two clubs, and has played the full game in each of the Hammers' last six in the Premier League.
In their October trip to Germany, Kudus returned two shots of which one was on target. In the capital - the final group game - it was a repeat.
Nine goals in 30 West Ham appearances across all competitions show the impact he's made since his summer arrival at the club. In a game where the visitors will see chances, Kudus should be heavily involved.
BuildABet @ 30/1
- West Ham 2+ goals
- Mohammed Kudus 2+ shots on target
- Edson Alvarez 3+ tackles
- Tomas Soucek 2+ tackles
Click here to back with Sky Bet
West Ham - and Kudus' - impact on the game has already been discussed with Freiburg's recent defensive woes.
In midfield, Edson Alvarez and Tomas Soucek should continue as the pairing. Soucek saw two successful tackles in the win over Everton last time out, while Alvarez had five.
Team news
Freiburg will be without Lukas Kübler, Daniel-Kofi Kyereh, Max Rosenfelder and Kenneth Schmidt for the first leg.
They will be hopeful that Philipp Lienhart can return to the squad, although he will have to tread carefully sitting just one caution away from a suspension in this competition.
West Ham winger Maxwel Cornet is currently recovering from a hamstring injury so will miss out once again here.
The positive for David Moyes is that both Aaron Cresswell and Lucas Paquetá returned to fitness for last weekend's victory over Everton.
Łukasz Fabiański should continue as their European goalkeeper.
Predicted line-ups
Freiburg XI: Atubolu; Sildillia, Ginter, Gulde, Gunter; Doan, Eggestein, Hofler, Grifo; Sallai, Holer.
West Ham XI: Fabianski, Coufal, Mavropanos, Zouma, Emerson; Alvarez, Soucek; Kudus, Ward-Prowse, Paquetá; Bowen.
Match facts
- West Ham have already played and beaten Freiburg on two occasions in the UEFA Europa League this season – should they win here, it’d be the first time they’ve won three games against the same opponent in a single European campaign.
- Both of Freiburg’s games against English teams in European competition have been defeats to West Ham. Should they lose here, they’ll have suffered more losses against English sides in Europe than against sides from any other nation (also two v Spain and Italy, as it stands).
- Freiburg have made the most high turnovers of any team (85) in the UEFA Europa League this season, as well as generating the most shots following them (18).
- West Ham have won each of their last three games in the UEFA Europa League without conceding a goal, with the most recent of those being a 2-0 win over Freiburg. They’ve never previously won four consecutive games in the UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League.
- West Ham United’s James Ward-Prowse has created more chances than any other player in this season’s UEFA Europa League (21); 16 of those chances have been from set plays, at least six more than any other player.
Odds correct 1710 GMT (06/03/24)
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