Juventus vs Freiburg prediction, odds, best bets, TV channel, live stream for Europa League match

Italian giants Juventus have an opportunity to inject hope into an otherwise fading season as they host Bundesliga side Freiburg in the first leg of their Europa League Round of 16 matchup.

Juve sit seventh in the Italian top flight standings, currently outside a European place thanks in part to their 15-point deduction for a corruption investigation. It seemed they'd turned things around and were pushing back up the table with a seven-match unbeaten run, but defeat at Roma last weekend has pegged them further back.

Freiburg, meanwhile, are one of a host of German clubs battling for a Champions League space in a crowded top half of the Bundesliga table. They are teetering on falling out of European places, but remain a quality defensive side. Other than a few wonky results in which they lost their focus, they are very good at the back.

If you remove three lopsided defeats in which they conceded 16 goals to Dortmund, Bayern, and Wolfsburg, Freiburg have conceded just 16 goals in 20 league matches this season. Add in European clean sheets against Olympiacos and Nantes, and Juve will find it tough to breach the Freiburg back line.

Juventus vs Freiburg match facts

• Date: Thursday, March 9
• Kickoff Time: 3:00 pm ET / 8:00 pm GMT / 7:00 am AEDT (Fri, Mar. 10)
• Location: Allianz Arena (Turin, Italy)
• Official: Anastasios Sidiropoulos (GRE)
• Last meeting: NONE (First meeting)

Juventus vs Freiburg prediction, odds

• Moneyline lean: Draw (+270)
• Score prediction: Juventus 1-1 Freiburg

This Round of 16 matchup will likely come down to the second leg in Germany after it finishes level in Turin. Juventus are in decent form, but they have struggled against quality opposition, and Freiburg have enough talent to stick with the Italian giants in their current construction.

These types of second-tier clubs have thwarted Juve in recent seasons, as they've been bounced from Europe by Villarreal, Porto, Lyon, and Ajax in the last four seasons. It very well could happen again.

Juventus vs Freiburg: Best bet

• Pick: Both teams to score — YES
• Odds: +110 (BetMGM)

It's hard to imagine this game featuring loads of goals, but the two sides should find room to at least cancel each other out at both ends.

Freiburg are used to playing without the ball, as their 47 percent possession is good for 14th in the Bundesliga, but when they do, they surge forward, with the fourth-most final third passes in the German top flight. They should find an opening to breach the Juventus back line, and the Italian side will also expect to score at home.

Juventus vs Freiburg prop bet

• Pick: Filip Kostic to score or assist a goal
• Odds: +150 (FanDuel)

Dusan Vlahovic has been invisible for Juventus, unable to score unless it's laid on a platter for him. The former Fiorentina man has scored just six goals across all competitions since October began, and those goals have come on xG totals of 0.65, 0.18, 0.79, 0.67, 0.43, and 0.07, which are huge totals.

So in games where he doesn't get the service he needs, Juventus need other players to step up. Those two individuals have been Angel Di Maria and Filip Kostic, and with Di Maria's star power pushing his odds down around 1/1, Kostic presents much better value for about the same likelihood of stamping his mark on the scoresheet.

Juventus vs Freiburg live stream, TV channel

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