Stuttgart vs. SC Freiburg preview: The Baden-Württemberg derby
Freiburg are looking for three wins in a row as they make the short trip up to Stuttgart, who are still recovering after getting throttled by Leipzig on Matchday 2.
Stuttgart
It looked rosy in Leipzig last week after Serhou Guirassy’s first-half goal, but things quickly fell apart. VfB can at least return home this weekend and reconvene with fresh legs in the midfield.
Angelo Stiller, who’s very familiar with coach Sebastian Hoeneß, was signed this week from Hoffenheim. He’ll likely slot right into the middle of the park and have the difficult job of trying to fill Wataru Endo’s shoes.
Hoeneß stated, “It’ll be up to us to keep them away from our box and cause them problems with our own game. Freiburg can be unpredictable with their different pressing methods and set pieces. We want to try and limit that on Saturday.”
Team News
Josha Vagnoman, Deniz Undav, Nikolas Nartey, and Laurin Ulrich are unavailable.
SC Freiburg
It’s been a quiet end to the transfer market for Freiburg, but that shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone in the Black Forest. Maximilian Philipp, who is one of their three summer signings, saved the day late against Bremen to claim all three points last week.
He’ll likely come off the bench again on Matchday 3, as it’s difficult to see Christian Streich making many changes to this week’s lineup. Lukas Kübler should continue to fill in at left-back, while Kiliann Sildillia will likely continue on the right side.
When asked about last week’s savior Philipp, Streich commented, "It's very gratifying when someone scores a goal for us. But that doesn't automatically put you in the first eleven. But he did a good job, and he trained well. If he continues like this, I feel positive."
Team News
Summer signing Junior Adamu will make his return with SC Freiburg II this weekend before returning to the first team squad presumably after the international break. Daniel-Kofi Kyereh and captain Christian Günter are out with injuries.
