Credit: Imago

James Barker

Mon 18 May 2026 12:10, UK

Freiburg’s set-piece situations look sure to play a big role in the outcome of their Europa League final clash with Aston Villa.

It’s not good to wish the days away, but if Wednesday night could hurry up in getting here that would be great!

Indeed, this will be the first time Aston Villa have contested a European final since winning the European Cup (now Champions League) against Bayern Munich in 1982.

Decades have passed since then, with many Villa fans questioning down the years as to whether they’d ever witness their team turn out in another.

Well, they are, but these occasions are only worth reaching if you come back with the trophy, and looking to prevent Villa from doing so on Wednesday will be Freiburg.

Why will set-pieces be important in Aston Villa vs Freiburg?

Villa’s set-piece coach Austin MacPhee has been praised for the work he’s done in this department in 2025-26, with Unai Emery‘s side scoring 17 Premier League goals from these situations.

Only Arsenal (21), Tottenham (18), Man United (18) and Liverpool (18) have scored more from set-pieces than the Villans this season, respectively.

So, whilst this is a clear strength to Villa’s game, attacking set-pieces is also something Freiburg do very well too.

Julian Schuster’s side have also scored 17 Bundesliga goals from this area in 2025-26, with only Bayern Munich (22) and Dortmund (19) netting more times from them, respectively.

On the flip side, however, Freiburg have also been very charitable to opposition teams when it comes to conceding from them, with 19 set-piece goals shipped in the Bundesliga this term.

That’s a number only trumped by Cologne’s 21, whereas Villa have been better in this department, conceding 14 from set-pieces in the Premier League this year.

What can Aston Villa expect from Freiburg?

Clearly then, set-pieces are sure to play a key role in Wednesday night’s Europa League final, but aside from this department, what else can Aston Villa expect from their German opponents?

Well, they are quite a strange team, as they don’t have feet firmly planted in either a possession-based approach, nor a direct one.

As per FotMob, Freiburg rank ninth in the Bundesliga for average possession per game at 48.1 per cent and 12th for accurate passes per match with 330.5.

However, they also place 11th for accurate long balls per game at 23.1, 13th for touches in the opposition box with 758 and 11th for shots on target per game with 4.2.

Schuster’s side do like to put crosses into the box, ranking seventh in the German top flight for accurate crosses per game at 4.9, with 6’5″ striker Igor Matanovic a big danger in this regard.

They aren’t a high-pressing team though, with Borussia Monchengladbach (2.6) being the only Bundesliga team with less possessions won in the final third per game than Freiburg’s 2.7.