Our next opponents: A strong group under Schuster

Position

It was the fifth win in the seventh home game. After only taking six points from six league matches plus the DFB Pokal exit away to third division Arminia Bielefeld, the 3-2 victory away to VfL Wolfsburg marked the end of a "results crisis" as Freiburg defender Matthias Ginter described the unsatisfactory phase before last weekend. SCF are now fifth in the table three points behind the Wolves. With Eintracht Frankfurt and RB Leipzig in the Champions League spots three and four, Freiburg are within striking distance with a gap of just three points. The team from the Breisgau have rediscovered winning ways at the end of the year. Under their new coach Julian Schuster, who took over from Freiburg legend Christian Streich in the summer, they made a good start to the season. SCF picked up 15 points from the first seven games.

Defender Lukas Kübler was again one of the key players on the pitch in the home game against VfL Wolfsburg. The 32-year-old right back scored a brace for the second time this season. They came from two corners taken by the set-play specialist Vincenzo Grifo. "The balls fell to my feet from the corners and I was in the right spot to put them in, thank God," said the scorer of the two goals. After Gregoritsch made it 3-0 on 61 minutes, Freiburg looked like convincing winners. But Wolfsburg, unbeaten in eight games at that point, fought their way back into the match with goals from Jonas Wind (75') and Mattias Svanberg (83'). "We made it unnecessarily exciting towards the end once again," said Freiburg keeper Noah Atubolo who kept his team from going behind in the first half with some impressive saves. After the intense clash, SCF coach Julian Schuster praised his team: "Friday night, a floodlit game, five goals, a home win: Christmas can come. I'm very proud of the team because they did lots and lots of things really well and were rewarded today with a very impressive performance. It was a big step forwards."

Before Christmas they still have the fixture away to Bayer 04. Schuster is approaching the game with respect: "We are looking forward to the challenge at the reigning champions of Germany. Away to a team that plays great football and represents Germany really well in Europe too. We will give our all to make it as difficult as possible for Leverkusen."

Personnel

SCF will again have to manage without midfielder Daniel-Kofi Kyereh at the BayArena as he is currently in rehab training after a torn cruciate injury. Otherwise, Julian Schuster has a full squad to choose for the game in Leverkusen. Goalkeeper Noah Atubolo is one of the key players in the team. The 22-year-old keeper has produced plenty of outstanding performances in recent weeks. The back four is usually made up of the captain Christian Günter (left), the two central defenders Philipp Lienhart and Matthias Ginter plus Lukas Kübler (right). The roles are also clearly designated in midfield: Maximilian Eggestein and Patrick Osterhage usually play as number sixes with Vincenzo Grifo and Ritsu Doan playing further up the pitch. The duo of Lucas Höler and Michael Gregoritsch have recently formed the attack. The Austrian was out of action for a long time due to a muscle injury. His position was taken up a few weeks ago by his fellow countryman Junior Adamu who is available again in Leverkusen after suspension. In the last few games, the forwards Merlin Röhl and Eren Dinkci made brief appearances after returning from injury. Both have tremendous pace and are also options for the starting line-up.

Problems

Although Freiburg in recent weeks have often had more possession and played more passes than in the first phase of the Hinrunde, they have created fewer shots and chances. With 20 goals in 14 games the team from the Breisgau are not among the most prolific teams in the league. Julian Schuster's team only scored one goal in four games between the eighth and eleventh matchdays. SCF are without a win on the road to date with just six goals scored in seven games. What's the explanation? "We've made wrong decisions in very promising situations or just lacked accuracy so we have to improve on that," said Schuster before the game against Wolfsburg and he demanded more "alertness, vision and precision." The traditional Freiburg strength from set pieces was absent up to the 3-2 win against Wolfsburg. Freiburg have not converted any of their three penalties in the league so far. And they also failed to score from the spot in the DFB Pokal game in Bielefeld.

Performers

SC Freiburg have the fourth best defence in the league with 19 goals conceded. That is down to the settled and very experienced defence around the captain Christian Günter plus the outstanding goalkeeper Noah Atubolu. Overall, SCF have impressed as a strong group and shown more aggression higher up the pitch under Julian Schuster than they did under Christian Streich. The main man in attack, as in recent years, is Vincenzo Grifo. The Italian is the top scorer and provider for Freiburg with three goals and seven assists. The top scorer is the Japan international Ritsu Doan with five goals to date. With their strength at home securing 16 points in seven games, the 3-2 win against the Wolves demonstrated what makes them stand out this term. "It's important to play like we did against Wolfsburg, winning challenges, making challenges, turning second balls into 50-50s and, if possible, winning them too," said striker Michael Gregoritsch after the seventh win of the season.