The first of this season’s three major European finals takes place on Wednesday night when Aston Villa take on Freiburg at the Besiktas Stadium in Istanbul for the chance to be crowned Europa League champions.
The clubs have never met before in any competition but this will be the 11th major European final contested between clubs from England and Germany, with England leading the way with eight wins to two, and it’s Villa who have been installed as the favourites according to the bookmakers.
Read on for the best of the statistics and storylines:
Stats you might see
Aston Villa stats
Aston Villa are now just one victory away from winning their first European trophy in 44 years. Their legendary European Cup triumph over Bayern Munich in 1982 remains one of the defining moments in the club’s history, and Unai Emery’s side now have the chance to create another unforgettable chapter.
This will be Villa’s first major final since their 2-1 defeat to Manchester City in the 2019-20 League Cup final, as they look to lift their first major trophy since winning that same competition in 1995-96.
Should Villa go on to win, it would mark the club’s fourth European trophy, following success in the 1982 European Cup, the 1982 European Super Cup, and the 2001 Intertoto Cup (back when there were three winners).
Victory would make Villa the second successive English winners of the Europa League after Tottenham lifted the trophy last season. The last time English clubs won the competition in consecutive years was Tottenham in 1971-72 followed by Liverpool in 1972-73.
Villa head into the final in outstanding European form, having won 12 of their 14 Europa League matches this season. In fact, no side across European competition has recorded more victories than Villa’s 26 since the start of the 2023-24 campaign.
Any Villa goalscorer would etch their name into club folklore as the first player to score for the club in a major European final since Peter Withe netted that famous winner against Bayern Munich in 1982.
Meanwhile, if an English player finds the net, they would become the first Englishman to score in a Europa League final since Daniel Sturridge for Liverpool in 2016.
Unai Emery gunning for No.5
Much of the spotlight ahead of the final has understandably shone on Unai Emery – and with good reason given his extraordinary pedigree in this competition.
The Aston Villa manager is aiming to win a record-extending fifth Europa League trophy, having previously lifted the trophy three times with Sevilla (2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16) and once with Villarreal in 2020-21. Victory would also make him the first manager ever to win the competition with three different clubs.
This final will be Emery’s sixth in major European competition, drawing him level with managerial greats Carlo Ancelotti, Sir Alex Ferguson, and Jose Mourinho. Only Giovanni Trapattoni has reached more European finals as a manager, with seven. Another victory would also move Emery level with Trapattoni, Ancelotti, and Mourinho for major European final wins. The Spaniard’s only defeat in a Europa League final came in 2019, when his Arsenal side were beaten by Chelsea.
Emery is also set to become just the second manager, after Jose Mourino, to lead four different clubs into major European finals (Sevilla, Arsenal, Villarreal, and Aston Villa) and could become the fourth to win European silverware with three different clubs after Mourinho (4), Rafa Benitez and Udo Lattek (both 3).
Overall, Emery’s Europa League record consists of 71 wins from 115 matches, including 12 victories from 14 games with Villa so far this season.
Golden Boot outsiders
With current Europa League top scorers Igor Jesus (Nottingham Forest) and Petar Stanic (Ludogorets) both eliminated on seven goals, the race for the Golden Boot remains slightly ajar heading into the final.
Aston Villa duo Ollie Watkins and John McGinn both sit on five goals for the campaign, meaning a brace would see either player draw level at the top, while a hat-trick could secure the outright crown. A long shot, yes, but finals have a habit of producing memorable moments!
Should Watkins finish as the competition’s top scorer, he would become the third English player to claim the award in four seasons, following James Tavernier in 2021-22 and Marcus Rashford in 2022-23. McGinn, meanwhile, would become the first Scottish player to finish as the competition’s leading scorer since John Wark in 1980-81.
Freiburg Stats
Freiburg have been one of the surprise packages of the season with the German club making history on Wednesday by appearing in their first ever European final and second-ever major final after a 2021-22 DFB-Pokal final defeat to RB Leipzig.
Freiburg will be the first German club making their European final debut since Schalke back in 1996-97, which was the last time the final was a two-legged affair. After sharing 1-0 wins, Schalke held their nerve to win on penalties.
Freiburg are looking to become the sixth different German winner after Borussia Monchengladbach (2), Eintracht Frankfurt (2), Bayern Munich (1), Bayer Leverkusen (1), and Schalke 04 (1) – and second German victor in the space of five seasons, having previously had a barren patch between 1998 and 2021.
Julian Schuster chasing history
While much of the attention ahead of the final surrounds record four-time winner Unai Emery, Freiburg boss Julian Schuster is quietly plotting a historic breakthrough of his own just two years into his managerial career, as his club chase their first major trophy.
Schuster is aiming to become the first German manager to win the competition in 30 years, since Franz Beckenbauer guided Bayern Munich to glory in 1996. In doing so, he would become only the sixth German coach to lift the trophy, joining Beckenbauer, Erich Ribbeck, Friedel Rausch, Udo Lattek, and Hennes Weisweiler.
At 41 years and 35 days on the day of the final, Schuster would also become the youngest German manager to take charge of a major European final since Matthias Sammer, who was 34 during the 2002 UEFA Cup final, which Borussia Dortmund lost to Feyenoord.
The Vincenzo Grifo effect
Freiburg will look to Vincenzo Grifo to continue his sparkling form. The 33-year-old has been the club’s main man throughout their Europa League run, directly contributing to a joint-most nine goals in the competition so far (5 goals, 4 assists).
The Italian has either scored or assisted in each of his last five Europa League appearances and now heads into the final looking to become only the fourth player to register a goal involvement in both legs of the quarter-finals and semi-finals, as well as the final after Radamel Falcao (Porto, 2010-11), Carlos Bacca and Kevin Gameiro (both for Sevilla under Unai Emery in 2014-15 and 2015-16).
