‘They’re a tough and annoying team to play against’: Nicky Hayen looks ahead to Genk’s clash with Freiburg | OneFootball

Genk face Freiburg in the next knock-out round of the Europa League on Thursday night. After overcoming Dynamo Zagreb in the previous round, Genk will have to step their game up against tougher opponents. Speaking to the media ahead of the game, Genk head coach Nicky Hayen is also keen to ensure his side play to a higher level against the Bundesliga club. Hayen said of Freiburg ‘They execute their tasks perfectly. They’re a tough and annoying team to play against. We’re going to have to have a good day, but at the same time, we’ve shown we can handle a lot, especially at home’.

Genk will hope to take away a lead from the opening leg at home before travelling across the border to the southern part of Germany. Freiburg are not in the best of form themselves, with just one win in their previous five matches. A return to European football via the Bundesliga looks unlikely, with a substantial gap between Freiburg in eighth and Bayer Leverkusen in sixth. However, at home this season they have only lost one of their 12 Bundesliga matches. In the Europa League, Freiburg finished in seventh with just one defeat in eight games.

Genk, on the other hand, have been inconsistent. They have begun to turn things around somewhat under Nicky Hayen, but are still guilty of committing some of the same mistakes that have cost them in the past. They can ill afford to do so on Thursday.

GBeNeFN | Ben Jackson