Leverkusen vs. Freiburg preview: A tale of two sides
Well-organized Freiburg travel to face struggling Leverkusen, who only secured their first win of the season last weekend.
| Christian Streich. | Photo: Steven Schaap, CC BY-SA 4.0 |
Bayer Leverkusen
Leverkusen are finally off and running after their unconvincing win against Mainz a week ago. But, Gerardo Seoane’s side have an uphill battle ahead. Surging Freiburg come to town, as Moussa Diaby and Patrik Schick are still looking for their first goals of the season.
New Chelsea signing Callum Hudson-Odoi hopes to bring some freshness to the attack, but it’s unclear if he’ll be ready to go on Saturday. With two defenders getting sent off on Matchday 4, Odilon Kossounou and Daley Sinkgraven are likely to draw starts.
Seoane stated that, "Freiburg played a great last season and are just picking up where they left off. They have many strengths and a very homogeneous style of play. It is a team that is constantly developing. We expect a strong opponent."
It’s clear that Florian Wirtz needs to come back ASAP.
Team News
Die Werkself are without Karim Bellarabi, Amine Adli, Andrey Lunev and Wirtz. Mitchel Bakker and Piero Hincapie are also unavailable, as they serve their red card suspensions. Hudson-Odoi is struggling with fitness issues and is questionable for the game.
SC Freiburg
The quiet club in the Black Forest have tied their best ever start to a season with three wins in four matches. Setting aside that Dortmund performance, keeper Mark Flekken has kept three clean sheets as well. Michael Gregoritsch is off to a roaring start at his new club, becoming one of the top aerial threats in the league.
After seeing their Europa League draw, Freiburg’s ever-quotable manager Christian Streich commented on their busy schedule ahead: "Football. Football. Eat. Sleep. Football. Football. But, we find that an absolute joy! We just have to know what it means to have three competitions next to each other."
Youngster Kiliann Sildillia has really impressed at the right-back spot, as he’s been a huge addition at both ends of the pitch. Offensively, Freiburg need to be more clinical with an xG of 4.41 in their 1-0 win over Bochum on Matchday 4. One of the Bundesliga's best fantasy players, Vincenzo Grifo, is also off to a hot start.
On this week’s opponent, Streich added that, "Before they always played in a back four, now they've decided to go to a 3-5-2. That worked in Mainz. They scored two goals, where it was all about switching. I'm curious if they stick to it."
Team News
Kimberly Ezekwem, Lucas Holer and Kevin Schade have all been ruled out for the contest. Lukas Kubler and Maximilian Eggestein are questionable.