Genk vs. Freiburg: UEFA Europa League round of 16 LIVE blog and team news

Freiburg head to Belgium to face Genk in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League round of 16 tie on Thursday (kick-off: 9pm CET).

Freiburg are the seeded team in this fixture, meaning they get to play next week’s second leg at home, after finishing seventh in the league phase with a record of five wins, two draws and a single defeat over the eight games, in which Noah Atubolu kept four clean sheets. A place in the top eight also meant the Bundesliga club skipped the play-off rounds and advanced straight to the last 16.

Julian Schuster’s men are one of four German teams still competing in three competitions, into UEFA’s last 16 and also the DFB Cup semi-finals, alongside Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen and VfB Stuttgart.

Genk finished ninth in the league phase, only missing out on the top eight on goal difference. The Belgians also won five of their games, losing two and drawing one to finish a point behind Freiburg. They prevailed 6-4 on aggregate in their play-off against Dinamo Zagreb but only after extra-time, following a pair of 3-1 away wins for each team in 90 minutes.

Follow the first leg below!

VS

Genk

Thu, 12.03 20:00

Freiburg

Europa League
Round of 16, first leg Round of 16, first leg Cegeka Arena, Genk

Philipp Treu on facing Genk

"Every team that reaches the Europa League round of 16 has something about them. I expect to face a very strong team. It's always different when you play in another country. We are well prepared though and looking forward to the challenge."

© DFL/Getty Images/Simon Hofmann

Julian Schuster on facing Genk

"We are full of motivation and ambition to achieve something historic."

© DFL/Getty Images/Simon Hofmann

Grifo to make history?

Against Leverkusen, Vincenzo Grifo scored his 105th goal for Freiburg, meaning he is now level with previous sole record goalscorer Nils Petersen. Another effort here would see him move out in front on his own.

© IMAGO/Heiko Blatterspiel

Celta Vigo or Lyon await in quarters

If Freiburg can overcome Genk in the round of 16, a trip to Spain or France would be their prize in the quarter-finals, where they would face either Celta Vigo (currently sixth in La Liga) or Lyon (fourth in Ligue 1).

© IMAGO

Genk beaten

In preparation for this encounter, Genk lost at league-leaders Union Saint-Gilloise in the Belgian top tier. They are now seventh in the division, 22 points adrift of top spot.

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Watch: Freiburg 3-3 Leverkusen - highlights

Matthias Ginter scored a late equaliser as Freiburg drew with Bayer Leverkusen to extend their unbeaten home run to 16 matches.

Head-to-head

This will be the first time these two sides have ever faced off, while Freiburg have never come up against a side from Belgium. Genk, though, have won just two of their 10 meetings with German opposition.

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Genk - the story so far

The Belgians narrowly missed out on a place in the top eight, ultimately finishing behind AS Roma in the final qualification spot on goal difference to end up ninth. Still, that saw them seeded as high as possible in the play-off round, although they did need extra-time in the second leg against Dinamo Zagreb before eventually prevailing 6-3 on aggregate.

© IMAGO/David Catry

Freiburg - the story so far

Julian Schuster's side sneaked booked their place in the round of 16 courtesy of a seventh-placed finish in the league phase. They avoided defeat in their first seven games, amassing 17 points, meaning their final-matchday loss to Lille had no impact on their top-eight spot.

© IMAGO/Arne Amberg

Welcome

Follow all the build-up and live action from the first leg of Freiburg UEFA Europa League last 16 clash with Belgium's Genk.

About the clubs

Freiburg

Europa-Park Stadion