Freiburg vs. Stuttgart preview: Team news and predicted lineups
SC Freiburg
Life without Christian Streich has begun for Freiburg, who said goodbye to their long-serving coach at the end of the 2023/24 season.
Former player Julian Schuster has moved from his role as talent management coordinator to take the reins, and in his first game in charge led his team to a convincing 4-0 win over Osnabrück in the DFB-Pokal.
Saturday's opponents, however, will be of a different calibre, with VfB Stuttgart coming to the Stade Europa-Park on the back of a sensational runners-up finish last season.
Freiburg lost both games to Stuttgart last season - 5-0 away and 3-1 at home - and will be keen to avenge those defeats.
Team News
On the outgoing side, Yannik Keitel has joined Saturday's opponents Stuttgart. Meanwhile, Freiburg have sold Hugo Siquet, while Keven Schlotterbeck has left the club permanently to join Augsburg after spending last season on loan at Bochum.
Mathias Ginter and long-term injured Daniel-Kofi Kyereh will miss Saturday's game for Freiburg. Atubolu (appendix), Dinkçi (groin), Gulde (back), Röhl (muscular), Sildillia (foot) are all doubtful.
VfB Stuttgart
VfB Stuttgart exceeded all expectations last season, finishing second ahead of Bayern Munich.
Their performances didn't go unnoticed, and as a result Stuttgart have lost a number of key players, including captain Waldemar Anton, top scorer Serhou Guirassy (Borussia Dortmund) and versatile defender Hiroki Ito (Bayern Munich).
Their voids will be difficult to fill, although Stuttgart have been active on the recruitment front themselves, bringing in the likes of Ermedin Demirovic, Jeff Chabot and Yannik Keitel, while also making a number of loan signings permanent, including key player Deniz Undav from Brighton & Hove Albion.
The Swabians kicked off their new campaign with a hard-fought Supercup tie against Bayer Leverkusen, which they lost on penalties after the match ended 2-2.
The defeat was a bitter pill to swallow for Stuttgart, who led 2-1 with 10 men late into the second half, but the performance should give them plenty of confidence heading into the new season.
Team News
Nartey (knee), Raimund (adductor), Vagnoman (metatarsal), Zagadou (knee) and Rouault (shoulder) are all unavailable for the Swabians, while Stergiou (back) is doubtful.
Click here to see our predicted Freiburg vs. Stuttgart lineups.