Our next opponents: Freiburg on a good run

Position

Looking back at 21 October 2001: Young Germany international Sebastian Kehl makes it 2-1 in added time for SC Freiburg at the Westfalenstadion against his future club and German champions Borussia Dortmund. Kehl hung his boots up over two and a half years ago and the win in the autumn of 2001 was the last time SCF picked up points away to Dortmund in the Bundesliga – until last Saturday. Freiburg almost secured an almost completely unexpected win at the Black and Yellow's but Jeremy Toljan levelled for BVB in added time. However: The team from Baden ended an ancient run in Dortmund while maintaining a current one. Freiburg have not lost in the last eight games in the Bundesliga – an impressive return for SCF who are now ahead of FC Bayern (seven games unbeaten) in the form table. The run, that started in November, has seen the team coached by Christian Streich move up to twelfth in the table. On 24 points, SCF are now seven points above the play-off spot.

personnel

Nils Petersen was unable to explain how he did it. "I've not done something like that very often. Normally, I'm a striker who works in the box," said the Freiburg forward after he curled a 40-yard shot over his former team-mate and BVB keeper Roman Bürki at the Signal Iduna Park with a finish that is a candidate for Goal of the Month and which also gave Freiburg a 2-1 lead. The 29 year-old also netted the first goal to make it 1-1. With ten goals so far this season, he is on course  to beat his previous best over a season in the Bundesliga. The prolific SCF central striker, who previously often came on as a sub, has become an essential player this season – also because the usual number nine Florian Niederlechner suffered a serious knee injury in the first half of the season and is unlikely to play again this term. As a replacement for Niederlechner and support for Petersen, the club signed Lucas Höler from second division SV Sandhausen in the winter transfer window and his commitment in his first games has earned special praise from coach Christian Streich.

problems

Even if Streich would never admit it: Given Freiburg's current run of form, there is little to worry the coach. If there is anything, then it's the defence, which has conceded too many goals even in the the unbeaten run. Freiburg have let in a total of 35 so far this season and, alongside Mainz, that is the highest number in the Bundesliga. And all that despite the SCF approach being based on playing out of a compact five-man defence. The young defenders are making too many positional errors making it easy for opponents to score. And, just at the wrong time for Freiburg, the regular first choice in goal Alexander Schwolow suffered a bruised thigh in the 2-1 home win against RB Leipzig. That meant the 25-year-old keeper, who has had an impressive season despite the goals conceded, had to miss the game against Borussia Dortmund.

potential

Despite dropping to the second tier at times, the Freiburg approach has been working brilliantly for years: With relatively modest means, the club from the student city has established a solid foothold in Germany's top flight with a squad capable of staying up over the long term. It is virtually impossible to imagine anybody else other than Christian Streich coaching the team. The charismatic 52 year-old knows his club inside out, probably more than any of his fellow coaches. His team is young and capable of developing – even if many of the talented Freiburg youngsters move on to bigger clubs to take their next steps in the game. That includes U21 European Champion Marc-Oliver Kempf, who has already announced he will be leaving at the end of the season.A particular blow for SCF: As Kempf will be out of contract, Freiburg will not receive a transfer fee for the highly talented central defender. Such financial injections are vital for the survival of a club like SCF who continue to resist the approach of modern professional football.

prediction

Over the past eight games, Freiburg have been impressive in laying the foundations for another successful season. The management at the club expect nothing else other than survival. With a seven-point lead over 16th position, that should be realistic – and there is also a gap of seven points to the European spots. At the end of the day, if there is no unparalleled dip in form, Freiburg should end the season after 34 games away from trouble  and, as they started, calm and collected.