van Bommel under pressure

It’s a special game for Maximilian Arnold. The midfielder has not played for any other club in his professional career and is about to make his 260th Bundesliga appearance for VfL Wolfsburg. This makes the 27-year-old record player for the Wolves in the top flight and, with this at the latest, he has become a club legend.

The best way to celebrate such a record day is with a home win, but that will be extremely difficult on Saturday against SC Freiburg, because the Breisgauer have not won more away games at any other Bundesliga team than at VfL Wolfsburg. In addition, the Sportclub is in extremely good form.

The Lower Saxons are in sixth position in the Bundesliga table. 13 points are a decent haul, but in recent weeks the Wolves have fallen short of their potential. The current form at least does not speak in favour of making a prediction on a home win in the match between Wolfsburg and Freiburg.

Christian Streich’s side have, in fact, got off to an outstanding start and are in fourth place with 16 points, just three points behind leaders Bayern Munich. The Sportclub has obviously made a big step forward this season and we therefore tend to place a tip on a point win for the visitors in the Wolfsburg vs Freiburg clash.

Wolfsburg – Statistics & current form

Mark van Bommel seemed to be the perfect successor for Oliver Glasner at Wolfsburg and made a dream start with his new team with four wins. In the meantime, the Dutchman has become one of the candidates for the Bundesliga’s first coaching sacking, as there is not much going on at VfL at the moment.

Toothless Wolves

The Lower Saxons have now gone seven games without a win. They have also suffered three defeats in their last three games. The Wolves are the only team in the top half of the table with a negative goal difference. It sounds very much as if the odds on a home win between Wolfsburg and Freiburg are taboo.

During the week, VfL Wolfsburg presented themselves extremely vulnerable in the Champions League at RB Salzburg, especially defensively. Some bad defensive mistakes led to a consequent 1:3 defeat.

In this condition it will be difficult to end the negative run in the Bundesliga on Saturday, especially as Wout Weghorst, who is still in quarantine, is missing an extremely important man. In addition, Xaver Schlager and Yannick Gerhardt are out of action, as are the injured Bartosz Bialek and William. Joshua Guilavogui is likely to make up for this in the league after his suspension in the Champions League.

Predicted Wolfsburg line-up:
Casteels – Mbabu, Lacroix, Brooks, Roussillon – Guilavogui, Arnold – Baku, Lukebakio, Steffen – L. Nmecha – Coach: van Bommel

Last matches played by Wolfsburg:

Champions League Grp. G
10/20 2021 – Salzburg 3 – 1 Vfl Wolfsburg

1st Bundesliga
10/16 2021 – Union Berlin 2 – 0 Vfl Wolfsburg

Friendly club matches
10/06 2021 – Vfl Wolfsburg 4 – 1 Hamburger SV

1st Bundesliga
10/02 2021 – Vfl Wolfsburg 1 – 3 Borussia Mönchengladbach

Champions League Grp. G
09/29 2021 – Vfl Wolfsburg 1 – 1 Sevilla

Freiburg – Statistics & current form

SC Freiburg are often just tiredly laughed at, but one can’t help but give the Breisgauer the greatest credit for outstanding performances in recent years, but also currently. Christian Streich’s team is, in fact, the only team in the Bundesliga that has not yet lost this season.

Unbeaten Breisgauer

Eight games unbeaten is a new record for the Sportclub. Away from home, the Freiburgers have never once fallen behind this season. On Saturday, they could be undefeated away from home for the fifth time, something the Breisgauers have only managed before under Volker Finke in the 1998/99 season. Therefore, we maintain that a prediction of a home win in the Wolfsburg vs Freiburg clash is not a good choice.

A guarantor for the current successes is the stable defence. Freiburg have conceded just six goals after eight matchdays. That is the best value in the league. They also conceded only one goal at home against RB Leipzig last weekend. Woo-Yeong Jeong’s goal was enough for a 1-1 draw, although the Breisgauers were much closer to the winning goal than the Bullen.

In terms of personnel, the Freiburg team continues to look excellent. Jonathan Schmid, who is still recovering from an infection, is the only player missing. However, there is still a question mark behind Roland Sallai. The Hungarian picked up a knock last week against RB Leipzig. It is conceivable that a call-up on Saturday in Wolfsburg will come too soon.

Predicted line-up of Freiburg:
Flekken – Gulde, Lienhart, N. Schlotterbeck – Kübler, Eggestein, Höfler, Günter – Jeong, Grifo – Höler – Coach: Streich

Last matches played by Freiburg:

1st Bundesliga
10/16 2021 – SC Freiburg 1 – 1 RB Leipzig

Friendly club matches
10/07 2021 – SC Freiburg 3 – 0 St. Pauli

1st Bundesliga
10/02 2021 – Hertha Berlin 1 – 2 SC Freiburg

09/26 2021 – SC Freiburg 3 – 0 Augsburg

09/18 2021 – Mainz 05 0 – 0 SC Freiburg

Wolfsburg – Freiburg Direct Comparison / H2H Balance

Two times in the second Bundesliga and twice in the DFB-Pokal – these four games are the big exception of the 38 games in which VfL Wolfsburg and SC Freiburg have faced each other to date. All the other games were played in the top flight. The direct comparison, with 15:12 victories, is very narrowly in favour of the Wolves. In eleven direct duels, the two opponents have shared the same points.

In the last season, this match in Breisgau initially resulted in a 1-1 draw. In the return match in Lower Saxony, VfL just heralded its strongest phase of the season. The 3-0 home win for the Wolves played its part in this.

Wolfsburg – Freiburg Tip

VfL Wolfsburg, there are no two opinions about it, are in a results crisis. The sixth place in the table is a little deceptive, but in the last seven games, the Wolves did not get a victory. Most recently, they even suffered three defeats in a row. They are in danger of losing ground in the Bundesliga and it is also becoming increasingly difficult in the top flight.

The situation is different for Sportclub. Freiburg are the only team still unbeaten in the Bundesliga this season. With six goals conceded, SC also has the best defence in the league. Statistically speaking, the Breisgauers should be favoured on Saturday. In any case, we can imagine placing a bet on a win for the visitors between Wolfsburg and Freiburg.

However, the home side undoubtedly have qualities that also give us hope of a win on Saturday. In our opinion, however, the crisis of the Lower Saxons will not end on Saturday. Nevertheless, we remain cautious and play the betting odds on the double chance X2 between Wolfsburg and Freiburg.