Our next opponents: Freiburg in good form

Position

SC Freiburg are unbeaten in eight games across all competitions. On Thursday, the side from the Breisgau region extended their good run in the UEFA Europa League. Julian Schuster's team won 2-0 at home against Utrecht, with both goals coming in the first half, which the hosts clearly dominated. Summer signing Yuito Suzuki was delighted to net his first competitive goal for SC, while set-piece specialist Vincenzo Grifo made it 2-0 with a direct free-kick shortly before the break. "The boys were sharp enough, focused enough and disciplined enough, so it was a well-deserved 2-0," said the coach, who was delighted with the first win after four draws. Freiburg moved up to sixth place in the Europa League table after their second win in their third game.

Following three consecutive wins, the Red and Whites drew four times in a row, including a 2-2 at home to Eintracht Frankfurt in the league. It was Grifo's free-kick just before the final whistle that secured a point for the hosts. "We would have liked to have picked up two more points, but in the end the 2-2 draw against Eintracht is okay," said the scorer of the equaliser after the match. "At the end of the day, I have to be happy with the draw," added his coach. "I'd like to give my team a lot of credit for keeping their cool after falling behind. Our wily Vincenzo then brought the energy onto the pitch that we'd hoped for." SC remain in tenth place with nine points after Matchday 7. The Breisgau side now face four straight games away from home across three competitions. Looking ahead to the upcoming game in Leverkusen, Schuster said: "We have two days fewer to prepare for the game. It will be a brutally tough task."

PersonNEl

Patrick Osterhage was recently sidelined for two games due to muscular problems. The 25-year-old hopes to be able to play again on Sunday. As the more attacking part of Freiburg's two holding midfielders Osterhage forms the centrepiece of the midfield alongside Maximilian Eggestein. The Swiss youngster Johan Manzambi (20) deputised for Osterhage in the last two games. He did very well recently against Frankfurt and especially against Utrecht, with a pass completion rate of 97 per cent against the Dutch side. It should now give Schuster one more option in midfield. In any case, the coach can almost pick his side from a full squad. Only Daniel-Kofi Kyereh (rehab after cruciate ligament rupture), substitute keeper Florian Müller (muscular problems) and summer signing Cyriaque Irié (post-malaria recovery) are out. It's quite possible that Schuster will rotate a few players at the BayArena after the Europa League match against Utrecht. Alongside goalkeeper Noah Atubolu, centre-backs Philipp Lienhart and Matthias Ginter are likely to start. Anthony Jung could be considered as an alternative. Lukas Kübler, Philipp Treu, Christian Günter and Jordy Makengo are available to ply at full-back.

Up front, the Breisgau side have had to compensate for the departure of Japanese striker Ritsu Dōan. SCF's top scorer last season with ten goals moved to Eintracht Frankfurt. In return, Freiburg signed Igor Matanović from Eintracht. The 1.95-metre-tall forward bagged his first brace for Freiburg in the 3-1 win against Stuttgart. In addition to Matanović and 20-year-old Irié, Derry Scherhant is also a new face in attack. The left winger played alongside Werkself pro Ibrahim Maza at Hertha Berlin last season. Japanese midfielder Yuito Suzuki also moved to the Black Forest from Danish first division side Bröndby. In addition to the established attacking players Vincenzo Grifo, Lucas Höler, Junior Adamu, Eren Dinkci and Niklas Beste, Schuster now has further options at his disposal for the tough schedule across three competitions.

ProblemS

In the first two Bundesliga matches, the Breisgau side were vulnerable in defence and failed to produce their usual tenacity in the game. They've since worked successfully on the basics and are annoyed only by the individual mistakes that led to goals being conceded in some games - especially against Frankfurt, Bologna and Hoffenheim. "We keep conceding easy goals every now and then. This time it was another two gifts," said centre-back Matthias Ginter after the 2-2 draw at Frankfurt, in which unfortunate errors by Manzambi and Makengo led to the goals for Eintracht.

PERFORMERS

After the Werkself, SC Freiburg are the team in the league who have won the most challenges. The Breisgau side have a success rate of 53 per cent, while Bayer 04 win 55 per cent of their tackles. And the two teams have another thing in common: both SC and the Werkself are dangerous from set pieces. While the Black & Reds have scored seven times from dead-ball situations so far, the Red & Whites have found the back of the net six times from set pieces in the league. Only league leaders Bayern Munich can boast even better stats with ten goals. Freiburg's Vincenzo Grifo is only the fifth player to have scored with at least ten direct free-kicks in the Bundesliga since the start of detailed data collection in the 2004/05 season. Leverkusen's Alejandro Grimaldo, on the other hand, is the best free-kick taker in the league since the 2023/24 season with five goals. In addition to these special strengths, SC are characterised above all by their collective strength, togetherness, aggression and tenacity. Freiburg have also made significant progress in terms of their football in recent matches. What is also remarkable is that the Breisgau side have lost just one of their last ten away games in the Bundesliga this season, and have picked up 21 out of a possible 30 points (six wins, three draws).