SC Freiburg will host Bayer Leverkusen at Stade Europa-Park on Sunday, looking to move on from their ouster from Europe this week.
SC Freiburg had ended their sizeable winless streak in the Bundesliga with a 2-1 win over Bochum but bowed out of the UEFA Europa League at the hands of West Ham United earlier this week, and they will look to return to winning ways against Bayer Leverkusen on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Bayer Leverkusen are on top of the league table, and they are ten points clear of defending champions Bayern Munich heading into the latest run of fixtures. They are on an exceptional run right now and come into the latest Bundesliga fixture on the back of an excellent comeback win over Qarabag FK in the Europa League.
Bayer Leverkusen are undoubtedly the favourites on current form, and Freiburg will have to produce an impressive performance to get something out of this contest. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
SC Freiburg
Kenneth Schmidt will miss out with a pectoral injury for SC Freiburg, while Maximilian Eggestein is suspended after picking up his fifth yellow card last weekend. Other than that, the home team have a fully-fit squad to choose from.
Freiburg are likely to shape up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Noah Atubolu in goal. Kiliann Sildillia and Christian Gunter will start as the full-backs. They will look to protect the central defenders and keep things compact at the back. Manuel Gulte will start alongside Matthias Ginter at the heart of the defence.
As for the midfield unit, Nicolas Hofler will start alongside Merlin Rohl in the middle of the park. Vincenzo Grifo will start as the central attacking midfielder, and he will look to create goal scoring opportunities in the final third.
Ritsu Doan and Roland Sallai will likely start in the wide areas, and they will look to add pace and flair during counter attacking situations. Finally, Lucas Holer will start as the main striker for Freiburg against Bayer Leverkusen.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Atubolu; Sildillia, Ginter, Gulde, Gunter; Rohl, Hofler; Doan, Grifo; Sallai, Holer
Bayer Leverkusen
For the away sis,de Arthur misses out with a thigh injury, and Victor Boniface is still recovering from his muscle tear. Other than that Bayer Leverkusen should be able to field a full-strength lineup on Sunday.
Die Werkself will start in a 3-4-2-1 formation, with Lukas Hradecky in goal. In the back three, Piero Hincapie will start alongside Jonathan Tah and Odilon Kossounou. Jeremie Frimpong and Alex Grimaldo will start as the wing-backs. They will look to contribute at both ends of the pitch.
Exequiel Palacios will start alongside Granit Xhaka in central midfield. The two players will look to dominate the midfield contest and protect the defensive unit. Nathan Tella and Florian Wirtz will likely start as the attacking midfielders.
They will look to drift out wide from time to time as well. They will look to create goalscoring opportunities in the final third with their vision and technical ability. Finally, Patrik Schick will lead the line for Bayer Leverkusen against SC Freiburg.
Probable Lineup (3-4-2-1): Hradecky; Hincapie, Tah, Kossounou; Frimpong, Xhaka, Palacios, Grimaldo; Tella, Wirtz; Schick
Key Stats
- Bayer Leverkusen are undefeated in the last 25 league matches.
- Bayer Leverkusen have kept a clean sheet in eight of the last 11 league matches.
- 16 goals have been scored in the last six matches between these two teams.
- SC Freiburg have failed to win five of their last six Bundesliga matches.
- Freiburg have conceded 12 goals in their last six matches in all competitions.
Player to Watch
Florian Wirtz
The 20-year-old German midfielder has been outstanding this season, racking up six goals and ten assists in the Bundesliga. He will look to unlock the Freiburg defence with his creativity, vision and passing in the final third. Wirtz will look to continue his impressive run of form by creating opportunities for his teammates and getting on the score sheet himself.
Prediction
SC Freiburg 1-3 Bayer Leverkusen
Although the home team picked up a win over VfL Bochum last weekend, this will be a much difficult contest for them. Bayer Leverkusen are impressive form, and they are full of confidence heading into this weekend’s clash.
The visitors have the momentum with them as well, and they are the better team in theory. They should be able to grind out all three points here. A comprehensive away win is on the cards here. Bayer Leverkusen should be able to continue their push for the title with another impressive result.