Will Freiburg stay on course for the top flight?
It’s a bit unreal what’s going on in Breisgau at the moment. It’s no secret that Christian Streich is an outstanding coach and developer. But the fact that SC Freiburg are not only pushing for international competition this season, but are on course for the Champions League, is quite extraordinary.
Currently, SC Freiburg is third in the table behind Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund. Almost regardless of the outcome of Sunday’s match against Eintracht Frankfurt, this will not change. This is the best start of the Sportclub in its own Bundesliga history. Never before have the Freiburgers had more points on their account after eleven matchdays.
Eintracht had hoped for more under Oliver Glasner this season, but the upheaval at Hessen is taking its time. At the moment, Frankfurt are only in 14th place, only three points away from the relegation zone. Therefore, in the duel between Freiburg and Frankfurt, the forecast must go in the direction of a home win.
In any case, we can assume that this match will be played to the end with eleven against eleven, as both teams have not yet had to accept a sending-off this season.
Freiburg – Statistics & current form
Two Freiburg players in particular have very good memories of matches against Eintracht Frankfurt. Nils Petersen, for example, scored the only hat-trick in Freiburg’s Bundesliga history against the Hessians in January 2015. Christian Streich has also never lost a home match against Frankfurt as a coach. That could be a good omen for Sunday.
Stable defence
Besides their home strength, Freiburg’s defence has been outstanding this season. After eleven matchdays, Mark Flekken has conceded just nine goals. That continues to be the league best, which could prompt you to check the odds on a home win, perhaps even without conceding a goal, in the match between Freiburg and Frankfurt.
Before the international break, Freiburg conceded their first defeat of the season, the last team ever to do so in the top flight. However, the Sportclub was a guest of FC Bayern and, as is well known, the stakes are particularly high at the Allianz Arena. Therefore, the 1:2 was a decent result. It was only in injury time that Jannik Haberer managed to score the equaliser.
Hat-trick hero Nils Petersen will probably not be available on Sunday due to knee problems. Roland Sallai and Kimberly Ezekwem will also be out of the match. Jonathan Schmid is still in rehabilitation training after his infection. Nico Schlotterbeck is still a question mark because of muscular problems. Should he not be able to play, his brother Keven should replace him.
Predicted line-up of Freiburg:
Flekken – Gulde, Lienhart, N. Schlotterbeck – Kübler, Eggestein, Höfler, Günter – Jeong, Grifo – Höler – Coach: Streich
Last matches played by Freiburg:
Friendly club matches
11/11 2021 – Karlsruher SC 1 – 2 SC Freiburg
1st Bundesliga
11/06 2021 – Bayern Munich 2 – 1 SC Freiburg
10/30 2021 – SC Freiburg 3 – 1 Greuther Fürth
DFB Cup
10/26 2021 – Osnabrück (2)2 – 2(3) SC Freiburg
1st Bundesliga
10/23 2021 – Vfl Wolfsburg 0 – 2 SC Freiburg
Frankfurt – Statistics & current form
Almost the entire management level is new at Eintracht Frankfurt, a coach had to be hired and there was also a high turnover in the dressing room at the Hessians. It is therefore clear that not everything can work yet. Nevertheless, the Frankfurt team had hoped that things would fall into place a little earlier.
Last minute experts from the Main
After all, Oliver Glasner’s eleven are well on their way to spending the winter in the Europa League. In addition, the Hessians have recently shown enormous qualities in the final phase. In the last three games, Eintracht scored in injury time. It could make sense to make a prediction on late goals by the visitors between Freiburg and Frankfurt now, too.
There were two away wins before the internationals. In the Europa League, there was a last-minute win at Olympiakos Piraeus. In the Bundesliga, Frankfurt repeated the feat. At Greuther Fürth, Sebastian Rode put his team in front, but the cloverleaf equalised in injury time. Borre, however, went one better and scored the late 2-1 winner.
Captain Sebastian Rode and Gonzalo Paciencia might not be able to play on Sunday. However, it is possible that both will at least make it into the squad after their injuries. Christopher Lenz will be the only one missing. All the other players should be fit for action. The only question is whether Oliver Glasner will field a second attacker alongside Rafael Borre.
Predicted Frankfurt line-up:
Trapp – Tuta, Hinteregger, Ndicka – Sow, Jakic – Durm, Kamada, Kostic – Borre, Lammers – Coach: Glasner
Last matches played by Frankfurt:
1st Bundesliga
11/07 2021 – Greuther Fürth 1 – 2 Eintracht Frankfurt
Europa League Grp. D
11/04 2021 – Olympiakos Piraeus 1 – 2 Eintracht Frankfurt
1st Bundesliga
10/30 2021 – Eintracht Frankfurt 1 – 1 RB Leipzig
10/24 2021 – Vfl Bochum 2 – 0 Eintracht Frankfurt
Europa League Grp. D
10/21 2021 – Eintracht Frankfurt 3 – 1 Olympiakos Piraeus
Freiburg – Frankfurt Direct comparison / H2H-Balance
To date, the teams from SC Freiburg and Eintracht Frankfurt have faced each other in a total of 39 matches. The direct comparison is almost even. After victories, the Frankfurt team is just ahead with 16:14. Nine duels ended in a draw. However, the Sportclub has only won one of the last eight matches against the Hessians.
Last season, there was a 2:2 draw in Breisgau. The return match in Mainhatten was won 3-1 by Eintracht Frankfurt, with Andre Silva giving his team the lead with a penalty before Woo-Yeong Jeong equalised. Already in this match, Frankfurt showed itself to be a last-minute performer, scoring late goals from Almamy Toure and Ragnar Ache to secure victory.
Freiburg – Frankfurt Tip
SC Freiburg are playing the best season in their club’s history and if things continue like this, they could end up qualifying for the Champions League for the first time at the end of the season. The Breisgauers are very stable defensively and have the best defence in the Bundesliga so far.
Moreover, Christian Streich’s team has only lost at FC Bayern this season. That’s why we see the hosts as favourites on Sunday.
The record of the last duels with only one Freiburg win from the last eight games against Eintracht does not argue for a home win, but we put a much bigger focus on the current form. Despite the Hessians’ last two wins, we’ve decided to play the betting odds on a home win between Freiburg and Frankfurt.
