Can Juventus save its Europa season vs SC Freiburg?

MANILA, Philippines – Is it a case of a team going up against a team going down?

Sport Club Freiburg has been making noises about muscling into the top four of the German Bundesliga these past three seasons. Two years ago, they finished 10th in the German First Division then sixth last year. This campaign, they are at the fifth spot, tied with RB Leipzig on points but are on the outside looking in for a Champions League slot for next season.

In the current Europa League, they topped Group G with a 4-2-0 record and are only second to PSV Eindhoven in goal difference with a plus-10. They are only one of three sides to go unbeaten in the tournament along with Spanish club Real Betis and Turkish team, Fenerbahce. 

Defensively, SC Freiburg has been outstanding, conceding only three goals, one more than Real Sociedad. 

On Friday, March 10, they will be up against Italian giants Juventus, which have not done well since 2019-20 when they had Cristiano Ronaldo. In the past two seasons, they have fallen down to fourth in the Serie A. This ongoing season, they are in seventh spot. They did not make it out of the Group Stage of the Champions League as they went 1-0-5 in Group H behind Benfica and Paris St. Germain.

Now they are in Europa and not favorite in their home and away series with SC Freiburg.

Their striker Vincenzo Grifo is in his prime and playing the best football of his career in this second spell with SC Freiburg. The 29-year-old German (who plays represents Italy in international competition) has been the club’s scoring force these past several years and will renew acquaintances with his Azzurri teammates Leonardo Bonucci and Nicolo Fagioli when SC Freiburg and Juventus meet at the Allianz Stadium in Germany. 

This will be the first ever meeting between the two sides in European competition and SC Freiburg’s first Italian opponent. 

Juventus will be led by Angel Di Maria, who has been involved in six goals in five matches in the club’s European competition. The Argentinean, who is a World Cup winner during the recently concluded tournament, finished with three assists against Maccabi Haifa last October and scored a hat trick against Nantes.

The two sides face each other for the second time on March 17 this time in Turin. 

This tantalizing first leg match between SC Freiburg and Juventus will be televised on March 10 at 1:45 a.m. with the second leg on March 17 also at the same time. The matches can be viewed by Filipino football fans on the Premier Sports Channel on Skycable and Cignal as well as the TapGo streaming application.