West Ham United vs SC Freiburg Preview

West Ham and Freiberg will play each other this Thursday in the last group stage game of the 2023/24 Europa League campaign, with both sides having a chance to finish top of their group.

Both sides have taken 12 points so far after winning four times and losing once in five group games. However, West Ham are sitting at the top of the table based on their head-to-head record in this fixture, having beaten Freiburg 2-1 in the reverse fixture.

So, just avoiding defeat here will guarantee them top spot and ensure they don’t have to go through the playoffs to play in the knockout stages. But after an embarrassing 5-0 loss to Fulham at the weekend, David Moyes’ side could be in for back-to-back defeats in all competitions for the second time this season.

The Hammers are a different beast in Europe, having won their last eight European games at home. Therefore, they will fancy their chances of beating a Freiburg side that has failed to win in four of their last seven away games in all competitions (W3, D1, L3).

However, the Germans have won their last two away games, keeping clean sheets in both. The last in that series was a 1-0 win over Wolfsburg, which kept them close to the European spots. That result was also their third win and clean sheet in a row, so they will travel to London in good spirits and with the confidence of winning and overtaking West Ham at the top of the table, especially as they have scored 17 goals in the Europa League group stage thus far.