Sallai backs fearless Freiburg to nail 'brilliant' Hammers

Roland Sallai thinks Freiburg can give West Ham a taste of their own medicine in tonight's Europa League encounter.

The Hammers travel to Germany to take on the Bundesliga outfit, who kicked off their continental campaign with an impressive 3-2 win at Olympiacos a fortnight ago.

Hungary international Sallai, 26, has scored three goals in eight outings for the hosts this term and is excited to face a Premier League opponent he believes his side boasts plenty of parallels with.

Speaking exclusively to LiveScore, Sallai explained: "I love the Premier League. I watch it a lot and have seen West Ham play many times.

"They have some amazing players there and a good coach. They play good football and are capable of beating the top teams.

"I notice that when they play the big clubs, they defend deep and look to launch counter-attacks. 

"It's a little bit similar to what we do, so I think that means it will be an interesting game against us.

"We know that we will come up against a brilliant opponent but we definitely do not fear them."

Overachievers

Not traditionally among Germany's top-performing sides, Freiburg achieved Europa League qualification for a second season running with a fifth-placed finish in 2022-23.

It took the mighty Juventus to knock them out last term, while they also stunned Bayern Munich in the DFB-Pokal quarter-finals before losing to RB Leipzig in the last four.

Winger Sallai, who joined from Cypriot side APOEL Nicosia in 2018, credits the club's impressive development to continuity.

He said: "Not so many players have left us in recent years. We have stayed together and every season, we get to know each other better as a team.

"This club is like a family really. Everybody helps each other on and off the pitch which is very special."

After tonight's showdown, Sallai and Co will turn their attention to stunning Bayern once again this Sunday.

He added: "When we played Bayern last year, nobody gave us a chance but we showed that anything is possible. We fought hard and won 2-1.

"We are a team and we all fight for each other. That's why I love it here."

Happy memories

Sallai has happy memories of facing English opponents, having bagged a brace against Gareth Southgate's Three Lions in Hungary's sensational 4-0 Nations League win last year.

Reflecting on that memorable June night at Molineux, Sallai said: "What happened in Wolverhampton against England, I will never forget.

"As a nation, we've grown up a lot in recent years and we can now face off against every big team. We are in a really good place.

"In the Nations League against Italy, England and Germany, all of the games were 50-50 and in Hungarian football, this is a really special moment."

With seven strikes in his last 15 international appearances, Sallai will be key to his country's chances of making Euro 2024.

They currently sit joint-top of their qualifying group alongside Serbia but have a game in hand on their closest rivals, who they face in Budapest on October 14.

Sallai added: "I think the next game may decide many things. The second half in Serbia was tough — we just defended constantly. 

"But we believe we will reach the European Championship and to qualify for three in a row would be huge for our nation."