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Freiburg must overturn a one-goal deficit to reach their first-ever European final when they welcome Braga to Baden-Württemberg for Thursday’s Europa League semi-final second leg. The Portuguese side went down 2-1 in last week’s first leg in Minho, leaving the Archbishops in the driving seat as they chase a first appearance in the competition’s showpiece since 2010-11.
The winner of this faces whoever wins between Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest and the bookies have Braga priced at 8/11 to qualify for the final with BetGoodwin while Freiburg are 23/20 with Sky Bet right now. You can also find more betting offers at the Mirror Betting Hubs Free Bets offers.
Freiburg appeared well placed to take a positive result from Portugal, with the tie level at 1-1 after Vincenzo Grifo’s 16th-minute effort cancelled out Demir Ege Tıknaz’s early opener. Noah Atubolu then kept Schuster’s side in contention with a penalty save from Rodrigo Zalazar just before the break, but their resistance was finally broken in stoppage time as Mario Dorgeles struck a late winner.
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That setback made it three defeats on the bounce for the German side, after an extra-time cup loss to Stuttgart and a heavy league defeat to Borussia Dortmund. They did at least stop the slide on Sunday, when Philipp Lienhart’s 75th-minute goal earned a 1-1 draw at relegation-threatened Wolfsburg, lifting Freiburg to seventh in the Bundesliga.
With a top-six finish now out of reach domestically, Freiburg’s path back into Europe’s top competition hinges on winning the Europa League — and Schuster can take encouragement from their formidable continental record at home, having won their last 10 European matches there, scoring 28 and conceding only four.
Braga arrive with domestic momentum of their own, sitting fourth in the Primeira Liga and five points clear of fifth with two games remaining after a 1-1 draw with Estoril Praia last weekend. Dorgeles was again on the scoresheet after putting them ahead in the 23rd minute, although Yanis Begraoui’s late equaliser ensured they had to settle for a point.
- Freiburg to win and both teams to score – 13/5 ( BetGoodwin )
- Igor Matanovic to score anytime – 7/5 ( BetGoodwin )
- Over 2.5 goals – 19/20 ( BetGoodwin )
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Freiburg’s draw with Wolfsburg also came at a cost, with Yuito Suzuki forced off late after a heavy collision. The 24-year-old has since been ruled out of Thursday’s clash after suffering a fractured collarbone. Centre-back Max Rosenfelder remains unavailable due to a hamstring problem, while midfielder Patrick Osterhage is still recovering from a serious knee injury. Daniel-Kofi Kyereh is closing in on a return, but this game may come too soon for the Ghanaian.
Braga have issues of their own after captain Ricardo Horta was forced off in the first leg and is set to miss a second straight match, having also sat out at the weekend. The visitors are also without Diego Rodrigues, Bright Arrey-Mbi, Adrian Barisic, Gabri Martínez, Florian Grillitsch and Sikou Niakate, while Victor Gomez is a major doubt after missing their last game.
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