Celta vs Freiburg Europa League preview: Where to watch, predicted line-ups, team news
Friday, April 10, 2026
Article summary
Where to watch, predicted line-ups and team news for this UEFA Europa League quarter-final second leg.
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Celta are preparing to host Freiburg in the second leg of their UEFA Europa League quarter-final tie.
Match at a glance
When: Thursday 16 April (18:45 CET)
Where: Estadio Balaidos, Vigo
What: Europa League quarter-final second leg
First leg: Freiburg 3-0 Celta
How to follow: Build-up and live coverage can be found here
Where to watch the game on TV
Fans can find their local UEFA Europa League broadcast partner(s) here.
What you need to know
"Afouteza" is a key element of the Celta lexicon; the Galician word for "courage" is the club's motto, and will be the watchword as Claudio Giráldez's side look to perform a minor miracle in the second leg against Freiburg. They have not won by four goals in a European home fixture since they beat Sigma Olomouc 4-0 in the 2001/02 UEFA Cup first round, but belief can move mountains.
Freiburg know that, and are well aware how one bad night at the office can see even the most comfortable of leads evaporate. "We're now at a level where every mistake is punished, so we'll have to be careful," said forward Vincenzo Grifo. "But we'll also travel to Vigo full of confidence." Team-mate Igor Matanović added: "We don't want to pull back, to hide, to play scaredy cat. We want to be aggressive, we want to be brave and we want to win again."
Possible line-ups
Celta: To follow
Freiburg: To follow
Form guide
Celta
Form: LWLWDD (most recent first)
Next: Celta vs Real Oviedo, 12/04, Spanish Liga
Freiburg
Form: WLWWLL
Next: Mainz vs Freiburg, 12/04, German Bundesliga
Views from the camps
Claudio Giráldez, Celta coach: "They were in it better from the start [in the first leg], while we weren't able to play our game. I think after the 1-0 goal, we had some good moments, some control. There are nights when nothing goes how you want it, nothing goes in your favour, when your game just doesn't work out. We didn't have it [in Freiburg]."
Julian Schuster, Freiburg coach: "It was really good that we were able to score the goals [in Freiburg], but at the end of the day, this was just the first leg. You've seen before that, with wins like this, sometimes you lose a bit of focus in the second leg. We have to play with the same sharpness again."
Reporter's view
To follow