Freiburg will play host to Borussia Dortmund in a Friday night clash of Bundesliga rivals with a kickoff at 9:30 pm.
Freiburg finished sixth last season, their highest finish since 2012-13. This was coach Christian Streich’s first full season in charge, having remained in his role since December 2011. Only Diego Simeone at Atletico Madrid is a longer-serving head coach of a club in Europe’s top five leagues, with Streich missing out by six days.
However, the 57-year-old has done a remarkable job all the same, with no signs of disappointment lingering from May’s agonizing penalty shoot-out defeat to RB Leipzig in the DFB-Pokal final, having thrashed Augsburg 4-0 away from home last weekend.
After a goalless first half, new signing Michael Gregoritsch broke the deadlock against his former club on debut just 16 seconds after the restart with a towering header.
In much more marginal circumstances, Marco Reus’s early tap-in proved enough to edge top-four rivals Bayer Leverkusen 1-0. Last season’s league meetings between the two sides both saw seven goals scored, yet this particular clash surprisingly only had that number of shots on target.
Karim Adeyemi thought he had scored on his debut, having moved from Red Bull Salzburg in the summer, but the forward’s strike had not crossed the line before captain Reus ensured that it did.
Freiburg vs. Borussia Dortmund Head to Head
Both sides have 24 games against each other with hosts taking 3 wins while visitors with 18 wins. Here is a look at their previous encounters:
Home
- FC Augsburg 0-4 Freiburg
- FC Kaiserslautern 1-2 SC Freiburg
- Strasbourg 3-3 Freiburg
- Freiburg 1-0 Rennes
Away
- Dortmund 1-0 Leverkusen
- Dortmund 1-1 Antalyaspor
- Munchen 0-3 Dortmund
- Dortmund 2-0 Villarreal
Freiburg Team News
Following a strong opening-day display against Augsburg, Streich is unlikely to make any changes for the clash with Mainz. Lucas Holer, Kevin Schade, and Kimberly Ezekwem are all ruled out through injury, while Lukas Kubler is doubtful due to a thigh strain.
Borussia Dortmund Team News
Dortmund has plenty to ponder. Adeyemi is a doubt for Saturday’s game after sustaining an injury to his foot during their training session yesterday. However, the 20-year-old is unlikely to miss many matches after a structural issue was ruled out following a medical examination; he could return to training next week.
Prediction and Odds
Even though they have not been as impressive as some of their rivals, Streich’s men still can surprise the visitors.
Home Win
Correct Score: 2-1
Both Teams to Score
