Form: New club record
Freiburg began the season with a 3-2 victory away to VfB Stuttgart, but were winless in their next nine league outings (five draws, four defeats). However, a 2-0 triumph over Bielefeld kick-started a five-game winning streak.
That run not only allowed the side to climb out of the relegation zone and into the top half of the table, but it set a new club record. Christian Streich’s men only narrowly lost 2-1 away to Bayern Munich last time out.
| SC Freiburg 2020/21 | |
|---|---|
| Stats | 6 wins, 5 draws, 5 defeats, 29:26 goal difference, 23 points, 9th in the table |
| Form | W-W-W-W-L |
| Goalscorers | Grifo (7), Petersen (6), Sallai (4), Lienhart (3), Demirovic (2), Höler (2), Gulde (1), Höfler (1), Jeong (1), Santamaria (1) |
Tactics: Enforced changes in midfield
Streich usually sends his team out in a 3-4-2-1 formation, but that can be converted into a 4-4-2 if necessary in order to outnumber the opposition in certain areas. Midfielder Baptiste Santamaria was taken off with a knee injury against Bayern and is unavailable for the time being, while Nicolas Höfler is suspended after collecting his fifth yellow card of the campaign.
As such, Streich has to rotate in two of his four midfield positions, with one potential replacement - Amir Abrashi - also injured. Janik Haberer, Lino Tempelmann and Yannik Keitel are all candidates to step in.
One to watch: Philipp Lienhart
Alongside Christian Günter, Philipp Lienhart is the only Freiburg player not to miss a single minute of action this season. The centre-back joined Freiburg on loan from Real Madrid in July 2017, before the Black Forest outfit activated a pre-agreed purchase option to make the Austrian’s move a permanent one in summer 2018.
The 1.89m defender scored his first Bundesliga goal on Matchday 4 this term, and added two more to his tally against Borussia Mönchengladbach and 1. FC Köln.
