SC Freiburg currently sit ninth in the Bundesliga, two places behind SGE. The table is tightly bunched, as Adi Hütter pointed out after the 3-1 win over Schalke: “With one more goal we’d have been sixth.” Freiburg, meanwhile, were the form team in the league until Sunday’s 2-1 defeat at Bayern, which ended a five-match winning run.
Doubts in central positions
Freiburg coach Christian Streich went through three defensive midfielders in Munich. Baptiste Santamaria suffered a knee ligament injury after just two minutes and was replaced by Amir Abrashi, who also had to give way before the end of the match. Then to compound matters, Nicolas Höfler picked up his fifth yellow card of the season, meaning he’s suspended for the clash with Frankfurt.
Hütter also has issues in the middle of the park with Sebastian Rode and Martin Hinteregger both facing a race against time to be fit. Rode missed the Schalke match with a knee problem, while Hinteregger picked up a dead leg that forced him off.
No breather
Hütter is aware that “we’re up against strong opponents in Freiburg”, to which sporting director Bruno Hübner added that the team should be “heading to Freiburg with confidence… and full of optimism going into the two matches this week”.
It may be the halfway point of the season, but there is no time for the Eagles to catch their breath. The second half of the campaign begins straight away at Arminia Bielefeld on Saturday, by which time Frankfurt will be hoping to have further cemented their position in the upper half of the Bundesliga table.
Match info
Kick-off: Wednesday 20 January, 20:30 CET, Matchday 17
Stadium: Schwarzwald-Stadion, Freiburg
