After four rounds of qualifying, a league phase of eight matchdays, and four rounds of two-legged knockout round ties, the UEFA Europa League season culminates with the final in İstanbul. The 17th edition of the competition under its current guise, Freiburg and Aston Villa will face off at Beşiktaş Park, with both sides looking to win the tournament for the first time.
Before Wednesday’s final occurs, Football Lowdown previews the final, providing an overview of how the teams got to the showpiece, their record, any titleholder rebalancing scenarios, and predict who will lift the trophy.
Europa League Final Preview
Freiburg
2025/26 Europa League Record: 9-2-3
League Phase Position: 7th
Domestic Performance: 7th in Bundesliga; lost in DFB Pokal semifinals
UEFA Cup/Europa League Campaigns: 7th (Previous Best, round of 16 twice)
In what is already an unforgettable season for SC Freiburg, they will cap it off with a European final – the first in the club’s history.
The German side qualified for Europe for the seventh time this term after finishing fifth in the Bundesliga in 2024/25. Having started directly in the UEL league phase back in September, Breisgau-Brasilianer won five of their eight matches at that stage en route to finishing seventh (5-2-1). Their only loss came on the final matchday against Lille.
Their top eight finish saw them qualify directly for the round of 16, avoiding the knockout round playoffs. They had to overcome a first leg deficit twice during their run, first dispatching Genk 5-1 in the return match, before beating Celta Vigo home and away in the quarterfinals. Sporting Braga proved no match for them in the semifinals – despite losing the first leg – and now they are on the cusp of their first major trophy.
After a seventh place finish in the Bundesliga this term, earning a European spot in the process, Freiburg will enjoy a fourth continental campaign in five years next term. That is irrespective of the Europa League final outcome. With that in mind, it will be the first time ever that they will not participate in the UEL – in its current state or in the UEFA Cup era.
Freiburg is the 16th different German club to reach a major UEFA club competition final, and 11th to do so in the UEFA Cup/Europa League. In the UEL era, they are just the third, with Eintracht Frankfurt winning it all in 2021/22 before Bayer Leverkusen lost their only game of the 2023/24 season at the final hurdle. German sides are 7-9 in finals in this tournament, with Freiburg hoping to become the sixth different side from their country to win this competition.
This will be the first English team not named West Ham that Breisgau-Brasilianer will take on in European football. In four matches between them and the Irons, Freiburg lost three of them. They did, however, win their sole match in the first leg of their round of 16 tie two years ago. The 5-0 defeat in the return leg, the side’s heaviest defeat in continental play, was their most recent match in a UEFA club competition before this season.
Aston Villa
2025/26 Europa League Record: 12-0-2
League Phase Position: 2nd
Domestic Performance: Currently 4th in Premier League; lost in the FA Cup fourth round, and third round in the EFL Cup
UEFA Cup/Europa League Campaigns: 14 (Previous Best, quarterfinals twice)
Participating in the UEL for the third time in its current guise – first in the competition proper – Aston Villa is on the cusp of a second major European trophy in their history, 44 years on from their finest hour.
After a sixth place finish in the Premier League last term, the Villans qualified directly for the Europa League after failing to make it out of the qualifying rounds back in 2009/10 and again a year later. They and Olympique Lyonnais finished top of the league phase with a 7-0-1 record, the most points won by a team at this stage. Villa’s only defeat came to Dutch side Go Ahead Eagles on matchday 3.
Completing the league phase with five wins on the spin, the side from Birmingham continued their dominant run by dispatching Lille in both legs in the round of 16 before doing the same to Bologna in the last eight. Fellow English club Nottingham Forest handed them their second defeat in the first leg of the semifinals, only for Villa to turn things around in convincing fashion in the decider by scoring four times in a 4-1 aggregate win.
Aston Villa will make a return to the UEFA Champions League next season after locking down a top five spot on Friday, with fifth being enough for UCL football due to England finishing top of the seasonal UEFA coefficient ranking. It will be the second time in three years that the side will partake in Europe’s premier club competition, having previously won the European Cup in 1981/82.
Remarkably, just five different English teams have won the UEFA Cup/Europa League, two doing so in the UEL era. In total, there have been 10 campaigns where the side lifting the trophy is from England. Villa’s participating in this term’s showpiece makes them the 10th different team from their nation to get this far. Excluding the two all-English finals, the league’s record at this stage is 8-7.
Across six matches against German opposition, Villa has a 4-0-2 record. Interestingly, this is the fourth time that the club will meet a team from Germany in a one-off game. In those games, they are 3-0-1. Of course, the biggest of the bunch came in their only other major European final, as they edged Bayern Munich 1-0 to lift the previously-mentioned 1981/82 European Cup.
What is the Reward for Winning the Europa League?
For starters, the winning team receives Europa League trophy, and become the 10th different team in the UEL era to do so. More crucially, however, the winner of Wednesday’s final is awarded a place in next season’s Champions League proper.
But, what if the team in question already earned a European place via domestic performance?
Starting with Freiburg, they earned a spot in the Conference League playoff round for next term after finishing in seventh in the Bundesliga. If they end up on top in the UEL, they will instead qualify for the UCL, vacating their UECL place. It will not be transferred to Eintracht Frankfurt, the next best finisher in the league. Instead, titleholder rebalancing will take place in the qualifying rounds of the UECL.
In this case, the cup winners (or league runner-ups in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Armenia will enter the third qualifying round, one round later than initially planned. On top of that, the cup winners (or league runner-ups) in Albania, Estonia, Montenegro, and Luxembourg will also enter the competition one round later, starting in the second qualifying round instead of the first.
Villa’s case is more complicated. Since they know they are assured a top five finish in the Premier League, they have already qualified for the Champions League. With that said, how the rebalancing occurs depends on whether they finish fourth or fifth in the league next Sunday.
What is known is that should Villa win the UEL, regardless of league finish, the four cup winners/second place finishers in Switzerland, Israel, Cyprus, and Sweden will begin their Europa League journey in the second qualifying round.
On top of that, if Villa holds onto fourth spot in England, they will vacate one of England’s automatic UCL spots, which would not be passed down to another team in the league. Sporting CP would receive the vacant spot in the UCL proper, instead of starting in the third qualifying round. Also, Olympiakos Piraeus and Bodø/Glimt would enter at the third qualifying round.
But, if Villa finishes fifth, they would vacate a Europa League spot, and not a Champions League place. This is due to the fact that the extra UCL berth is applied after all titleholder rebalancing is done. In essence, that means a country’s initial European places are applied first, then any rebalancing. Since Villa would qualify for the UCL as a titleholder, the sixth place finisher in the Premier League would play in Europe’s premier club competition, claiming the European Performance Spot.
As for the UEL spot that Villa initially ‘won’, it would be rebalanced (not passed down to another Premier League side). Instead, Sint-Truiden of Belgium would qualify directly for the UEL league phase, instead of the playoff round. That spot would go to Austrian regulars RB Salzburg, who would also start a round later.
Prediction: Who Wins the Europa League Final?
The first-ever meeting between Freiburg and Aston Villa will be an interesting one for many reasons. For starters, neither have won the Europa League before, nor have they gotten past the quarterfinals before this season. Also, both have impressed in the competition this term, especially at home. The pair had a perfect record in front of their home fans en route to making the final.
With the UCL spot on the line, more is at stake for Freiburg, as they are one game away from playing among European elite. That is something Villa is already assured of. Given the money and increased exposure it comes with, there is serious pressure on the Germans to come out on top. In comparison, Villa is playing for trophy and some extra money for winning the final.
In the knockout stage, the sides have combined for 29 goals (15-14 in Freiburg’s favour), while Villa has proven difficult to break down, conceding just twice. Freiburg, meanwhile, has just one clean sheet in their six knockout round games.
The numbers could not be much closer between the two heading into this final. However, if we have to choose a favourite, it is undoubtedly Villa in this case. While their only other final came 43 years ago, they have been here before on the continental scene. Plus, they have been nearly unstoppable in this season’s Europa League. For much of the competition, Freiburg has coasted through with little hiccups along the way. But, they are meeting their strongest opponent in the final, and while they have more to lose, it is hard to see them finding a way past Villa.
