Europa League final: Three Freiburg players that Aston Villa boss Unai Emery will worry about ahead of Istanbul showdown

Aston Villa will be attempting to end a 44-year wait for another major European trophy when they face Freiburg in the Europa League final on Wednesday night.

With Champions League qualification having been secured through their position in the Premier League table, Unai Emery can afford to place full focus on trying to lift Villa's first-ever UEFA Cup/Europa League.

However, standing in front of the English outfit is a Freiburg side that have just secured seventh place in the Bundesliga table, enough to earn a spot in the qualification rounds of next season's Conference League as a bare minimum.

Nevertheless, with Freiburg having never participated in the Champions League in their history, this game represents one of the biggest moments in their 122-year history.

Here, Sports Mole takes a look at three Freiburg players who could prove to be the difference in Istanbul.

Johan Manzambi

Among what is an experienced squad, there is little doubt that Johan Manzambi is the shining light where the club's prospects are concerned.

Since making the switch from Servette's academy in 2023, the midfielder has progressed into a star player, despite being five months short of his 21st birthday.

As someone who can play as a number 10 or in a deeper role, Manzambi has already contributed nine goals and 11 assists from his 57 matches in a Freiburg shirt.

Ten of those contributions have come from 27 outings in this season's Bundesliga, while two of his five league goals during 2025-26 have been netted versus Bayern Munich.

Question marks over his temperament are justified. Manzambi has already had eight yellow cards and two red cards (both in this season's Bundesliga) across the early stages of his professional career.

Nevertheless, the fact that he has made 10 appearances for Switzerland since his debut in June 2025 tells you a lot about his career trajectory ahead of his expected call-up to their World Cup squad.

Igor Matanovic

Igor Matanovic is someone who will be hoping to join Manzambi at the World Cup, where he could represent Croatia in their opener against England.

His second goal in eight caps came in a 2-1 win over Colombia during the March international break, and the 23-year-old's club form will not go unnoticed by Villa.

From just 1,561 minutes of Bundesliga football during 2025-26, Matanovic has contributed 11 goals and two assists.

Of those who have reached double figures in Germany's top flight, that is the seventh-best scoring ratio, while his overall return of 15 goals across 24 starts and 25 substitute outings this campaign is a vast improvement on his struggles of 2024-25.

Although Matanovic had been on a six-game scoring drought, he has chipped in with three goals and one assist across his last two appearances.

Standing at nearly 6ft 4ins, Matanovic also brings an aerial threat that will inevitably test the Villa backline and pose a risk at set-pieces.

Noah Atubolu

As a 22-cap Germany Under-21 international with one year left on his contract, there is somewhat of an inevitability of goalkeeper Noah Atubolu making the move to a bigger club in the foreseeable future.

Just six clean sheets and conceding 57 goals from 34 outings in this season's Bundesliga may suggest differently, but you have to look at the overall package of a stopper who is said to be under consideration to replace Bart Verbruggen at Brighton & Hove Albion.

Most notably during 2025-26, Atubolu has only shipped 10 goals from 14 Europa League appearances, keeping five shutouts in the process. He has only conceded more than once in a game on one occasion, the 2-1 defeat to Braga in the first leg of the semi-finals.

Atubolu has progressed through the Freiburg academy to make 124 appearances for the first team, a total of 38 clean sheets having been posted.

Although he is expected to miss out on a place in Germany's World Cup squad, his call-up in November emphasises that he remains in the thoughts of Julian Nagelsmann, who remains without a standout number one since the international retirement of Manuel Neuer.

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