Form: Outside chance of top seven
Freiburg go into Saturday’s match in Frankfurt in tenth place, but can still claim seventh place and the accompanying UEFA Europa Conference League play-off spot if they win and their rivals drop points. To do so, the Black Forest club, who currently have 45 points, would need to overtake Union Berlin (47), Borussia Mönchengladbach (46) and VfB Stuttgart (45) on the final day of 2020/21.
| SC Freiburg 2020/21 | |
|---|---|
| Stats | 12 wins, 9 draws, 12 defeats, 51:49 goal difference, 45 points, 10th in the table |
| Form | S-U-N-S-U |
| Goalscorers | Grifo (9), Petersen (8), Sallai (8), Demirovic (5), Höler (4), Lienhart (4), Günter (3), Jeong (3), Gulde (2), Schmid (2), Höfler (1), Santamaria (1) |
Tactics: Set-piece specialists, defensively vulnerable
Head coach Christian Streich usually sends his side out in a 4-4-2 or 5-4-1 formation, but his charges have proven to be very flexible this season and are especially dangerous at counter-attacks.
Dead-ball situations are another of their strengths. Streich’s side have scored 16 times from such scenarios this term, giving them the sixth-best record in the Bundesliga, while seven goals from corners puts them joint-fourth overall with Eintracht in that particular category. However, at the other end of the pitch Freiburg are not as watertight as they might like, and only bottom club Schalke (573) have allowed opposing teams more shots at goal this season (490).
One to watch: Christian Günter
Christian Günter is an ever-present on the pitch for Freiburg. The left-back has been at the club since 2006 and, after climbing through the ranks in the youth academy, was promoted to the first team in 2012. Since then the 1.85m defender has made 292 competitive outings for the side and this season he is one of three outfield players not to have missed a single minute of action. Moreover, the 28-year-old is one of the team’s hardest-running members and his total distance of 350.8 kilometres in 2020/21 is the eighth best in Germany’s top flight.
Günter’s performances have not gone unnoticed and he has just been called up to Germany’s squad for the upcoming European Championship.
