Will the Black Forest side defend their Champions League spot?
Also because they have lost only one of their last eleven league games, SC Freiburg climbed to fourth place in the table last weekend with a 4-3 away win at Hoffenheim. Two matchdays before the end of the season, the Black Forest side’s Champions League dreams, long thought to be unrealistic, are increasingly taking shape. The Sport-Club would have everything in their own hands with two wins at the end.
However, the remaining programme of the Baden-Württemberger is a tough one. The home game against in-form Berlin is followed by an away game in Leverkusen. However, the bookmakers see the Black Forest side as having the advantage at least against the Eisern. In the run-up to the match between Freiburg and Union Berlin, the odds are swinging in favour of the home side.
However, the team from Köpenick has been in very good form lately. In contrast to SC Freiburg, Union Berlin missed out on a place in the DFB Cup final. On the other hand, the Eisern scored 13 out of a possible 15 points in April – the best result in the league. Accordingly, it is complicated to use the three-way system between two teams in good form.
A much better bet for Freiburg against Union Berlin is that both teams will score. After all, both need more points in the fight for Europe and are likely to play for a win.
Freiburg – Statistics & current form
SC Freiburg are playing an absolutely exceptional game, in which several milestones could still be reached in the last three competitive games. On the one hand, the players from Breisgau still need two wins in the Bundesliga to enter the Champions League for the first time in the club’s history.
And on the other hand, the Black Forest side could still secure their first major title in the DFB Cup final on 21 May 2022. Accordingly, the month of May will be groundbreaking for Christian Streich’s squad.
Only one defeat in the last eleven league games
The Freiburg side certainly don’t have to hide, as the only recent defeat was a 4-1 loss against German record champions Bayern Munich. Otherwise, there was no other defeat in the last eleven league games.
Most recently, Sport-Club have scored three times in four consecutive matches and have picked up ten out of a possible twelve points from their last four games in the Bundesliga. The Black Forest side can go into this home match against the Köpenickers with a correspondingly broad chest, in which the lead over chaser RB Leipzig could be extended to four points, at least overnight.
Only lost three of 16 home games in Bundesliga
There are two factors that suggest that tip 1 will work out for Freiburg against Union Berlin. Firstly, the Black Forest side are extremely strong at home and have only lost three games at the Europa-Park-Stadion in the 2021/22 Bundesliga season. Only Bayern, Mainz and Union Berlin lost less often in their own stadium (twice each).
And secondly: Christian Streich can draw from the full squad in this important phase of the season and, with Keitel, Schade and Weißhaupt, only has three players unavailable whose absences can be well compensated for by the quality across the board.
Predicted Freiburg line-up:
Flekken – N. Schlotterbeck – K. Schlotterbeck – Lienhart – Günter – Höfler – Eggestein – Kübler – Grifo – Sallai – Höler
Last matches played by Freiburg:
Bundesliga
30/04/2022 – Hoffenheim 3 – 4 SC Freiburg
23/04/2022 – SC Freiburg 3 – 3 Gladbach
DFB Cup
20/04/2022 – Hamburger SV 1 – 3 SC Freiburg
Bundesliga
16/04/2022 – SC Freiburg 3 – 0 VfL Bochum
10/04/2022 – Eintracht Frankfurt 1 – 2 SC Freiburg
Union Berlin – Statistics & current form
1. FC Union Berlin are also playing a consistently impressive season. The Köpenicker failed in their first outing in a European competition in the preliminary round of the Conference League and also narrowly missed the jump to the final of the DFB Pokal.
At least in the Bundesliga, the 51 points from the first 32 league games set another milestone. Never before have the Eisern scored more points in the top flight of German football. By way of comparison, at the end of the previous season, which led into the Conference League, they had 50 points from 34 matches.
Just one point off sixth place
Accordingly, the capital city side, who as things stand are seventh in the table and would once again be competing in the Conference League qualifiers, are still eyeing the Europa League group stage. Here, the Eisernen are still in the way of 1. FC Köln, who still have a one-point lead.
However, if the Köpenickers get the maximum of six possible points from their last two league games against Freiburg and Bochum, it will most likely be enough to finish the season in the top six. Consequently, Urs Fischer’s team should not be lacking in motivation.
The best points haul in April
In addition, the Eisernen go into this away game with a lot of momentum. The Berliners picked up 13 of a possible 15 points in April. No other Bundesliga team has been able to beat that tally.
However, because they gave away two important points in a 1-1 draw against Fürth, who had already been relegated, the bookmakers still only assign the Köpenickers the role of outsiders.
Predicted line-up of Union Berlin:
Rönnow – Gießelmann – Ryerson – Knoche – Jaeckel – Trimmel – Khedira – Prömel – Haraguchi – Michel – Awoniyi
Last matches played by Union Berlin:
Bundesliga
30/04/2022 – Union Berlin 1 – 1 Greuther Fürth
23/04/2022 – RB Leipzig 1 – 2 Union Berlin
DFB Cup
21/04/2022 – RB Leipzig 2 – 1 Union Berlin
Bundesliga
17/04/2022 – Union Berlin 2 – 0 Eintracht Frankfurt
09/04/2022 – Hertha BSC 1 – 4 Union Berlin
Freiburg – Union Berlin Direct comparison / H2H-balance
Head to head: 4 – 3 – 4
There have been a total of eleven meetings between the two teams so far and with four victories each, the balance is completely even. In the first leg, the two teams played out a goalless draw on 15 December 2021.
Freiburg – Union Berlin Tip
In Freiburg vs. Union Berlin, the bottom line prediction goes to the home side. The team from Köpenick has been playing well lately and secured 13 out of a possible 15 points in a very strong April. But against Greuther Fürth, of all teams, they dropped two immensely important points in a 1-1 draw last weekend, which is why we see the home-strong Black Forest team as the favourites.
Nevertheless, a lot can happen between two teams that are potentially playing above their means. All the more reason to take the three-way system with a grain of salt. We therefore switch to betting that both teams will score.
