• Freiburg have reached Europe in back-to back seasons

• West Ham the reigning UECL champs

• Both attacks on good form

Freiburg v West Ham
Thursday 5 October, 17:45
Live on TNT Sports

Freiburg trying to keep the dream alive

It's hard to really express just how remarkable this current purple patch is for Black Forest outfit Freiburg, but it is undoubtedly a golden era. This is a club that has never won a major trophy, although a couple of years ago they were just a few penalty kicks away from beating RB Leipzig in the final of the DFB Pokal.

Christian Streich's unfashionable side have qualified for European competition in back-to-back campaigns for the first time in the club's history, and a move to a modern new stadium has gone swimmingly, with the character and vibe of the old Dreisamstadion somehow living on. Freiburg have made a mixed start to this league campaign (they have won three, lost two and drawn one of their six league games), but the primary goal of a club of their size is always to avoid the drop first and take the bonuses later.

Freiburg made a perfect start to this season's European campaign too, as they won a thriller 3-2 at Greek giants Olympiakos. They were twice pegged back in Piraeus, but found a way to win via Maximilian Philipp's late strike.
Coach Streich is the star, the moral compass of the club who is adept at squeezing every drop of potential out of his players. Even when Freiburg were relegated a few seasons ago, he was retained to oversee the rebuild, and SCF bounced back to the top flight at the first attempt.

Freiburg are still missing skipper and rampaging left-back Christian Günter because of injury (he has a broken forearm). Young midfielder Yannik Keitel is also expected to miss out.

Hammers a consistent European force

The fact that West Ham are favourites to win their group in this competition speaks to the success they've had under David Moyes at continental level. The Glaswegian led the club to Europa Conference League glory last season, having propelled the club to the semi-finals of the Europa League last term.

The Hammers started strongly on Matchday One, coming from behind to sweep aside Backa Topola. Summer recruit Mohammed Kudus was the star of the show, as the former Ajax midfielder scored two of the three goals.
It's been an impressive start to the season for Moyes' men, and there are no concerns that last season's struggle against relegation will have to be repeated. There are already 13 points on the board, and new signing James Ward-Prowse is proving to be the perfect Moyes recruit, marrying an impressive work-rate with pinpoint set-piece delivery.

Moyes has rotated his squad effectively, winning six of the last eight games in all competitions. Kudus is expected to start again here, with opportunities given to players like Danny Ings, Said Benrahma and Konstantinos Mavropanos. Lukasz Fabianski, deposed as the first-choice keeper in the Premier League by Alphonse Areola, may well start.

Goals on the cards

The market is struggling to split these two, and I can see why. Freiburg were only beaten by Juventus at home in Europe last season, and in the Bundesliga their only home defeats in the last 19 outings have been against Bayern, Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig. Conversely, West Ham have looked strong this term, so there isn't much to choose between them.

On that basis I'll ignore the Match Odds route and simply back Over 2.5 Goals at 1.758/11. That has paid out in four of Freiburg's last seven competitive games, and they have already leaked ten goals in the league this term. Six of West Ham's nine games in all competitions have featured at least three goals.

Grifo and Kudus worth a watch

Mohammed Kudus really rises to the occasion when it comes to European games. Not only did he score twice on Matchday One, but last season he scored outstanding Champions League goals against Liverpool and Rangers. His price of 3.8514/5 to score at any time seems very generous.

On the flipside, Vincenzo Grifo is the creative heartbeat of the Freiburg side. He has scored in two of his last three games, he takes free-kicks and penalties, and last term the Italian netted 19 times for club and country. He is 3.3512/5 to find the net.

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