SC Freiburg vs Aston Villa Europa League Final: Match preview, predicted line-ups, team news and prediction

After an outstanding Bundesliga season, SC Freiburg will aim to crown their remarkable campaign with a historic first major trophy when they face Aston Villa in the UEFA Europa League final at Beşiktaş Park in Istanbul on Wednesday night.

Match preview 

Having made the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals last season, Aston Villa are set for a third straight European campaign after also reaching the UEFA Conference League semi-finals in 2023/24.

Villa enjoyed an impressive run to the final, losing just once as they secured a second-place finish in the league phase, then swept aside Lille and Bologna to set up a semi-final clash with Nottingham Forest.

Chris Wood’s second-half penalty handed the Tricky Trees a narrow 1-0 advantage over the Villans in the first leg.

However, Unai Emery’s men responded in style at Villa Park, overturning the deficit with a commanding 4-0 victory over Vitor Pereira’s side.

Ollie Watkins opened the scoring in the 36th minute before Emiliano Buendia doubled Villa’s lead from the penalty spot 10 minutes into the second half, with skipper John McGinn adding two late strikes to seal the rout.

Villa confirmed their place in next season’s Champions League thanks to Friday’s 4-2 victory against Liverpool, a result that saw them leapfrog the Merseyside club into fourth place.

Villa have won 12 of their 14 Europa League matches this season (L2), three more victories than any other team; Freiburg are second with nine wins.

The Premier League outfit is also the Europa League’s leading scorer this season with 28 goals, putting them three clear of Freiburg, who rank second with 25.

Unai Emery holds the record as the most successful manager in UEFA Cup/Europa League history with four triumphs, winning three with Sevilla between 2014 and 2016 and another with Villarreal in 2021. He now hopes to become the first coach to lift the trophy with three different clubs.

Freiburg enjoyed an unbeaten run across their first seven league-phase games and later turned on the style with a flurry of goals in the knockout rounds.

Julian Schuster’s side overcame Genk 5-2 on aggregate before dispatching Celta Vigo 6-1 in the quarter-finals, booking a semi-final meeting with Braga.

Despite a 2-1 defeat in the first leg against the Portuguese side, the Breisgau-Brasilianer fought back strongly to overturn the tie and progress 4-3 on aggregate.

The German side capped off their league campaign with a resounding 4-1 victory against RB Leipzig, clinching seventh place and a spot in next season’s Conference League.

Freiburg are the third different German team to reach the Europa League final in the last five seasons. Eintracht Frankfurt lifted the trophy in 2021/22, and Leverkusen were beaten finalists in 2023/24.

Team news

Aston Villa are sweating on the fitness of Amadou Onana, who has not played since being forced off in the first leg of the semi-final at Forest and remains a major doubt.

Freiburg will be without Yuito Suzuki due to a fractured collarbone, while Patrick Osterhage is a doubt.

Predicted line-ups 

Freiburg (4-2-3-1): Atubolu, Kübler, Ginter, Lienhart, Treu, Eggestein, Höfler, Beste, Manzambi, Grifo, Matanovic.

Aston Villa (4-2-3-1): Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne, Lindelof, Tielemans, McGinn, Rogers, Buendia, Watkins.

Prediction: SC Freiburg 1-3 Aston Villa.