#SCFB04 – Facts and stats

COUNTDOWN TO KICK-OFF

According to club colours, the Black and Reds (Bayer 04) are away to the Black and Whites (SC Freiburg). At 15.00 CET it will be more or less the other way round. The Werkself will play in all white and Freiburg in red shirts and black shorts. And in tune with the white Werkself kit, snow is forecast. The Herrlich team may be able to experience that before the game when they go for the communal, post-breakfast walk in the beautiful, middle-age city on the river Dreisam. The Bayer 04 squad and staff flew on a charter flight from Cologne to Lahr airport yesterday afternoon after the final pre-match training session before travelling on to the team hotel in Freiburg.

clash of home and away form

At yesterday's press conference, Heiko Herrlich said Freiburg is one of the toughest venues in the Bundesliga. The Red Bulls experienced that recently when the team under coach Streich sent last season's runners-up back to Leipzig without any points after securing a 2-1 win. This season, only Schalke 04 have taken all three points on their visit to the Breisgau. The Royal Blues earned a 1-0 win on matchday 10 at the start of November although they did survive two shots against the woodwork from the hosts. This encounter promises to be even more exciting given the recent strong away form shown by Herrlich's men with no defeats in the last seven fixtures on the road (four wins, three draws). However, the last Werkself victory at Freiburg was in October 2011 (1-0). So now is high time...

goals galore

So far this season, Bayer 04 have had the ball in the opposition net 41 times – making the Werkself the third most dangerous strike force in the league after Bayern Munich (49) and Borussia Dortmund (42). In last weekend's game against Mainz, the Werkself scored at least one goal for the 25th league game in succession, which represents a new club record. And it is entirely possible the run may well continue this weekend. The Sport Club have already conceded 35 goals this term, which is the most in the league along with Mainz 05. But Bayer 04 should not be overconfident: SCF have only conceded seven times in their ten home matches this season – the best return in the league.

duel between top German strikers

In the current ranking of goalscorers, there are four players in fourth place with ten goals each sharing the title of best German striker. Kevin Volland and Nils Petersen can rate each other in a direct duel today. Jona Tah, Sven Bender and Co. should be particularly aware of Petersen: The 29-year-old has scored eight goals in the last six league matches and has been involved in half of the 30 goal scored by SCF this season (14 goals, one assist). The lad is on a good run. But Kevin Volland is also on top form: He has scored seven goals against Freiburg including a brace in the previous meeting this season.  And the next strike for Volland will be goal number 50 for him in Germany's top flight.

In black and red  at the Schwadbud

All Bayer 04 fans unable to support the Werkself in Freiburg who want to get behind the team  with fellow Black and Reds will receive a warm welcome at the Schwadbud: The fan pub in the East Stand at the BayArena is again open for fans to come together to watch the game live on television. The doors open at 14.30 CET, one hour before kick-off: Drop in to join other Bayer 04 fans in crossing fingers for the Werkself against the team from South Baden. Further information and background to the game plus live reporting are available on our social media channels. Come on the Black and Reds!