Motherwell vs Freiburg Predictions
Motherwell face a considerable step-up in quality when they host Freiburg in the first leg of their Conference League playoff on Thursday.
The Steelmen have performed well in Europe this summer, and could take advantage of an opponent facing their first competitive fixture of the season.
I fancy the Scots to pull off a surprise win or draw at Fir Park.
Motherwell Backed to Avoid Defeat at Fir Park
- Motherwell are unbeaten in 7 of their last 8 matches
- Freiburg failed to win 6 of their last 8 matches (competitive fixtures)
- Freiburg lost 3 of their last 4 away matches (European competitions)
- Freiburg failed towin 13 of their last 16 away matches (European competitions)
Motherwell and Freiburg Set For First Competitive Meeting
Motherwell and Freiburg will meet for the first time in a competitive fixture on Thursday.
Motherwell Suffer League Cup Shock
Motherwell return to Fir Park after a surprise 1-0 League Cup defeat against League One side Stenhousemuir last weekend.
Alfred Johansson rotated his team following their impressive European success against HJK, but the Steelmen slipped to a shock defeat at Ochilview Park.
The Scots had enjoyed a six-game unbeaten run before their League Cup reversal last weekend.
Motherwell secured their place in the Conference League playoff round with a 2-0 second-leg victory against HJK at Fir Park last week. Ibrahim Said scored twice as Johansson’s men completed a deserved 3-1 aggregate success.
The Lanarkshire side had previously eased past HB Torshavn in the previous qualification round with a 5-0 aggregate victory.
Motherwell have won three and drawn one of their four European qualifiers this season, scoring eight goals while conceding only once.
Unbeaten in four of their last five home European fixtures, the Scots are bidding to reach the league or group phase of a European competition for the first time in their history.
Freiburg Complete Pre-Season Preparations
Freiburg travel to Scotland after completing their pre-season schedule with a convincing 3-0 friendly victory against Crystal Palace.
Goals from Yannik Engelhardt, Lucas Höler and Derry Scherhant in an extended 120-minute contest secured victory for Julian Schuster’s side.
The Bundesliga side have now picked up three wins from four warm-up fixtures this summer. Freiburg also claimed a 2-0 win against Strasbourg and a 3-1 win at Derby County.
Schuster’s men finished last season in less than stellar form. Freiburg failed to win six of their last eight fixtures, including a 3-0 defeat against Aston Villa in the final of the Europa League.
While the Germans impressed in their fine run to the final, Freiburg lost three of their last four away Europa League games.
On the road, the Breisgau-Brasiliane have failed to win 13 of 16 competitive fixtures this year.
Motherwell vs Freiburg Team News
Motherwell: (4-3-3) Alex Paulsen; Tom Sparrow, Jake Girdwood-Reich, Martin Moormann, Emmanuel Longelo; Dylan Williams, Oscar Priestman, Lukas Fadinger; Willy Vogt, Ibrahim Said, Tawanda Maswanhise.
Head coach Johansson is expected to recall several players rested for last weekend’s League Cup defeat.
Alex Paulsen, Emmanuel Longelo, Martin Moormann and Lukas Fadinger should return to the starting XI this week.
Ibrahim Said is also expected to feature after scoring both goals against HJK.
Jordan McGhee, Stephen O’Donnell, Callum Hendry, Apostolos Stamatelopoulos and Paul McGinn are expected to remain sidelined with various injury issues.
Speaking after last week’s impressive victory against HJK, Johansson praised Ibrahim Said after his superb brace secured Motherwell’s place in Thursday’s tie.
“Outstanding performance from him; I’m so pleased for him.
“He has been really good at the start of the season for us, both in Europe and in the league, and then against Falkirk he dropped a little bit. His effort was so high against Falkirk, defensively, so much responsibility, but he was not as good on the ball as he’s shown tonight.
“A few days later, to put the focus back on and try to do better is impressive.”
Freiburg: (4-2-3-1) Mio Backhaus; Philipp Treu, Matthias Ginter, Max Rosenfelder, Jordy Makengo; Maximilian Eggestein, Yannik Engelhardt; Jan-Niklas Beste, Yuito Suzuki, Vincenzo Grifo; Igor Matanovic.
Head coach Schuster is likely to retain the majority of the side that started the impressive friendly victory against Crystal Palace.
Yannik Engelhardt is expected to feature while Lucas Höler and Derry Scherhant are also in contention following goalscoring substitute appearances against the Eagles.
Florent Muslija is unavailable with a long-term ACL injury.