SC Freiburg vs Celta Vigo Predictions

• Both teams have scored in Freiburg’s last three matches
• Both teams have scored in six of Celta’s last seven contests
• Igor Matanovic has scored four goals in his last three starts for club and country

Matanovic can make hosts’ chances count

Freiburg and Celta Vigo should provide an entertaining first leg of their Europa League quarter-final on Thursday as both clubs continue to experience the rare taste of a continental cup run.

Julian Schuster’s Breisgau Brazilians are in up-and-down form after seeing their two-game winning streak halted by Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich on Saturday. Freiburg led 2-0 after 71 minutes and perhaps could have been four goals to the good if they had taken their big chances, but were eventually worn down by Bayern’s brilliance in a 3-2 defeat capped by Lennart Karl’s stoppage-time clincher.

They may have learned a few lessons from that sickening loss and should field a stronger line-up on Thursday with Croatian striker Igor Matanovic back in the starting team. He has been in great goalscoring form of late and would surely have converted one or both of stand-in Lukas Holer’s misses when clean through on goal.

Goals at both ends in Freiburg

Celta were mightily relieved to end their three-game winless run in La Liga with a 3-2 victory over Valencia on Sunday. Claudio Giraldez’s men came from behind in that one, having lost from 3-0 up at home to Alaves in their previous game.

That defeat followed their 2-0 win in Lyon, which clinched this last-eight berth, and they have now won back-to-back away games in this competition. But Freiburg’s home European form is more impressive with nine straight wins in Baden-Wurttemberg and they are fancied to take a 2-1 lead to Spain for the second leg.

Backing both teams to score seems the best way into this first game, however, with the hosts unlikely to sit back and Celta primed to pick them off on the counter attack.