Preview:Freiburg vs Basel - prediction, team news, lineups

Freiburg will put their Bundesliga duties aside this Wednesday night as they welcome Swiss giants FC Basel to the Europa-Park Stadion for their Europa League opener.

The German club will embark on just their seventh ever continental campaign, while their Swiss opponents return to the Europa League for the first time in five years.

Match preview

Freiburg have been going strong for over 120 years, though only now are the club beginning to make waves across the continent.

Wednesday night will not only mark the start of Freiburg’s seventh European campaign, but it will also be the third time in four years that the Breisgau Brazilians rub shoulders with their continental counterparts.

The Bundesliga outfit earned their spot in this year’s edition of the Europa League following an impressive fifth-placed finish in the league in their first full season under newbie head coach Julian Schuster, who is certainly making a good impression at the Europa-Park Stadion.

Freiburg endured a slow start to the new season, suffering a couple of heavy defeats against Augsburg and FC Koln. However, the club have been able to turn things around since the international break, and they enter Wednesday’s big European clash on the back of two solid wins.

Schuster first oversaw a thrilling 3-1 win over Stuttgart, with Freiburg scoring all three goals in the final 12 minutes of the match. One week later, his men travelled away to Werder Bremen and came away with a thumping 3-0 win.

FC Basel’s head coach, Ludovic Magnin, is certainly no stranger to Bundesliga clubs. The 46-year-old spent a large part of his career in Germany, winning the league with both Werder Bremen and VfB Stuttgart.

Magnin has made a steady start to his time as Basel head coach, winning six of his first 10 competitive games, and his men head into Wednesday’s fixture on the back of three straight victories.

Basel’s last defeat came away in Copenhagen as the Swiss champions failed to qualify for the main draw of the Champions League; a 3-1 aggregate loss to the Danes condemned Magnin’s side to Europa League football – a competition they have not played in for five years.

RotBlau have not competed in the main draw of any European competition for the last two years, and they will be looking to mark their return on a high away in Germany.

Freiburg form (all competitions):

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Basel form (all competitions):

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Team News

Freiburg head into Wednesday’s fixture without Daniel-Kofi Kyereh; the 29-year-old has been out of action for two years, though recent reports have suggested that the midfielder could make his much-anticipated return within the next few weeks.

Goalkeeper Noah Atubolu made Bundesliga history over the weekend as he became the first man to save five penalties in a row; the 23-year-old is expected to continue in goal against Basel.

Forward Junior Adamu is the man to watch, with the Austrian getting a goal and assist against Bremen last weekend, and he is expected to make his first European appearance since a 2-0 defeat to West Ham United in 2023.

Basel forward Benie Traore is a doubt for the trip to Germany, having missed the last six matches due to a leg injury.

Defender Finn van Breemen is also expected to miss the fixture, with the 22-year-old still recovering from a knee injury which he sustained last March.

Forward Albian Ajeti is the danger man for the Swiss side, having scored four of his last five goals away from home.

Former Liverpool man Xherdan Shaqiri is also worth keeping an eye on, considering the Swiss superstar has made eight goal contributions in his last eight appearances across all competitions.

Freiburg possible starting lineup: Atubolu; Makengo, Lienhart, Ginter, Kubler; Osterhage, Eggestein; Grifo, Holer, Beste; Adamu

Basel possible starting lineup: Hitz; Schmid, Barisic, Vouilloz, Tsunemoto; Otele, Metinho, Koindredi, Salah; Shaqiri, Ajeti

We say: Freiburg 2-1 Basel

Freiburg may have made a slow start to the season, but the German outfit are now beginning to hit their stride.

Basel are also in good form, but picking up a result away in Germany is a tough task. With that in mind, we are backing the hosts to prevail in a tight encounter.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.