Anew offensive spectacle in the southern derby?
Will VfB remain unbeaten in the new season? After two draws at the start of the season, the Europa League participants from Freiburg now come to the Mercedes-Benz Arena. Freiburg suffered their first defeat of the new season last weekend at home to BVB.
Whenever SC have been guests at the Neckar in recent years, things have really gone bang. On average, more than four goals were scored per game in the last five visits of the Baden team to VfB. Freiburg won the last two of these games with 2:3, before that Streich’s eleven remained winless in Stuttgart six times.
VfB Stuttgart – Statistics & current form
After their opening draw against Champions League contender RB Leipzig, VfB led until the 95th minute in Bremen last weekend. But then Werder equalised and thus ensured that a very good start to the season only became a decent start to the season.
Two points against Leipzig and in Bremen are certainly okay from VfB’s point of view, but in the long run they have to score three times if they don’t want to slip back into the relegation zone like last season. On a positive note, they remained unbeaten in the first two games of the season for the first time in eleven years.
Defensive problems continue
The last-second equaliser against Werder shows that VfB have still not been able to stabilise their defensive situation so far this season. The number of goals conceded was one of the main reasons for the poor performance last season. They were unable to keep a clean sheet in any of their home games.
They only failed to score in four games at home, two of them against the top teams from Dortmund and Munich. On average, they conceded almost two goals per game, too many to keep up in the Bundesliga. At least the offensive performance was reasonably good, so that relegation could just be averted.
This is also the picture in the new season. Against Leipzig, it was ultimately thanks to the opponent’s inability to finish and some strong saves by Müller that they did not concede more goals in the end. And in Bremen, Müller again had to make two saves after individual mistakes by his front men.
But going forward, VfB showed good performances in the opening games. The forecast for VfB Stuttgart against Freiburg is therefore again that both teams will score at least one goal. Stuttgart have not kept a clean sheet in 22 Bundesliga home games – a negative club record. However, they have almost always scored themselves.
In the meantime, Stuttgart are unbeaten in five matches in a row. A positive development of the team can therefore be seen. The team’s self-confidence has grown anyway due to the fact that it was no longer considered possible for them to stay in the league last season. Freiburg, however, is one of the strongest away teams of the past season.
At the start of the season in Augsburg, the Baden team once again proved what a strong opponent the Swabians will be facing on Saturday. Nevertheless, a bet on the double chance for the Swabians is worth considering, as VfB has made a solid impression in recent weeks. Matarazzo will continue to be missing Nartey, Coulibaly and Faghir.
Predicted line-up of VfB Stuttgart:
Muller, Mavropanos, Anton, Ito, Vagnoman, Ahamada, Führich, Endo, Silas, Tomas, Kalajdzic
Last matches played by VfB Stuttgart:
Bundesliga
13/08/2022 – Werder Bremen 2 – 2 VfB Stuttgart
07/08/2022 – VfB Stuttgart 1 – 1 RB Leipzig
DFB Cup
29/07/2022 – Dynamo Dresden 0 – 1 VfB Stuttgart
Friendly club matches
23/07/2022 – VfB Stuttgart 5 – 2 Valencia
16/07/2022 – VfB Stuttgart 2 – 1 Brentford
Freiburg – Statistics & current form
Few other current Bundesliga coaches are probably as well suited to their team as Christian Streich is to Freiburg. For the coach, who says he is not sure whether it would work with him as a coach at another club, it works all the better at his heart’s club.
The likeable club from Baden has been proving for years that continuity in the coaching position can pay off. For the second time in his tenure, Streich led Freiburg to the European Cup last season.
And the start to the new season was also promising. After the opening win in Augsburg, the team was on the winning track for a long time last weekend against Champions League participants Dortmund. However, a blunder by goalkeeper Flekken gave the game an unfortunate turnaround from Freiburg’s point of view, so that in the end they were defeated by BVB.
Third win in a row in Stuttgart?
Now Freiburg face an easier task than against BVB, at least on paper. The bookmakers are offering odds of around 2.50 for an away win at Stuttgart against Freiburg. The role of the Freiburg favourites in Stuttgart is understandable. After all, the balance of power in the Baden-Württemberg derby has increasingly shifted towards the Baden side in recent years.
Freiburg have won two of the last three encounters in the Mercedes-Benz Arena, and there has also been a draw. All in all, SC now have four wins in a row against VfB, with five wins in a row in the Bundesliga so far only against Kaiserslautern and Duisburg.
Nevertheless, betting on an away win for VfB Stuttgart against Freiburg should not be your first choice. The current form of the upcoming opponent is good, Stuttgart remained undefeated in the last five matches. But apart from the cup match in Dresden, VfB have never been able to keep a clean sheet. And Freiburg goalkeeper Flekken has also had to make a save in two of the three competitive matches so far this season.
SC Freiburg’s most recent visits to Stuttgart have always been attractive, high-scoring encounters. Both teams scored in four of the last five encounters in Swabia. This time, too, we assume that neither side will end up with a zero. Streich will be missing Höler, Schade, Ezekwem and Kübler.
Predicted line-up of Freiburg:
Flekken, Sildillia, Ginter, Lienhart, Günter, Eggestein, Höfler, Doan, Sallai, Grifo, Gregoritsch
Last matches played by Freiburg:
Bundesliga
13/08/2022 – SC Freiburg 1 – 3 Borussia Dortmund
06/08/2022 – Augsburg 0 – 4 SC Freiburg
DFB Cup
31/07/2022 – Kaiserslautern 1 – 2 SC Freiburg
Friendly club matches
23/07/2022 – Strasbourg 3 – 3 SC Freiburg
21/07/2022 – Bahlinger SC 0 – 1 SC Freiburg
VfB Stuttgart – Freiburg Direct comparison / H2H-Balance
The south derby between the Swabians and the Badeners has been played a total of 46 times. The overall balance is still in favour of VfB, even though the balance of power has shifted more and more towards Freiburg in recent years. The Swabians have won 26 times, Freiburg 15 times and only six times did the match end in a draw. The goal difference of 82:62 is also in favour of Stuttgart.
However, Freiburg have won four of the last five encounters, and three of these victories have come at Stuttgart’s Mercedes-Benz Arena. There have always been plenty of goals in the last few encounters when Freiburg have visited Stuttgart. In five of the last six games in Stuttgart, at least three goals were scored.
VfB Stuttgart – Freiburg tip
The Baden-Württemberg derby has seen fast, attractive football with many goals in the last few games. The style of play of Streich and Matarazzo has not changed this season, both teams continue to operate with offensive football and occasionally neglect the defense.
With VfB Stuttgart vs Freiburg, the prediction is again that there will be a few goals scored at the Mercedes-Benz Arena this coming Saturday and that both teams will get to at least one goal of their own.
In the last two away games, the Badeners took the points from Swabia, having previously failed to pick up a three-point win in Stuttgart five times in a row. After the series of unbeaten games, VfB is brimming with self-confidence. They have remained undefeated in all of their competitive matches this season, having already gone through their summer preparation without a defeat. They also want revenge for the two recent home defeats.
The high odds in the bookmakers’ assessment show that Freiburg expect anything but a walkover in Stuttgart next Saturday. Even though Freiburg is a strong away team, we are inclined to play the head-to-head betting in favour of the Swabians, as VfB also look solid at the moment and have been convincing in their last two home games against Cologne and Leipzig.
