SC Freiburg vs. Dortmund preview: BVB look to get back on track
Dortmund are off to the Black Forest on Saturday afternoon in dire need of a win after back-to-back draws against likely relegation contenders in Bochum and Heidenheim.
SC Freiburg
Freiburg were heavily destroyed by Stuttgart 5-0 before the international break due to several horrific defensive breakdowns. It’s uncharacteristic for a usually steady back line, but they may start to be feeling the ramifications of missing captain Christian Günter.
There is no left-back to replace him, as Christian Streich has been trying to play right-back Lukas Kübler on the left. Freiburg are also still searching for consistency up front as Michael Gregoritsch is struggling in front of goal and Ritsu Doan has been in and out of the starting lineup.
Streich said, "We've almost never had such an unsatisfactory game before an international break. Of course I wasn't happy with that. - The loss of Christian (Günter) affects us. It affects us on the pitch, and it also affects us in the dressing room. Christian is a central factor in what is discussed and how he affects players.”
Team News
Günter, Daniel-Kofi Kyereh, and Yannik Keitel are out, while Junior Adamu is expected to be a squad selection for the first time. Noah Atubolu didn’t train during the international break, but he’s still expected to start in goal.
Dortmund
It hasn’t been the dream start that BVB were hoping for and Edin Terzic is already under a lot of pressure. Results need to start coming now or else onlookers will start wondering whether Dortmund are already out of the title race.
At the end of the transfer deadline, supporters were hoping for some full-back and defensive additions. That was not to be. Instead, striker Niclas Füllkrug was brought in and it’s still unclear how Terzic will use him in this system.
It will be interesting to see if a two-striker system is implemented with both Füllkrug and Sebastian Haller up front.
In his presser, the trainer mentioned, "We lost clear control against Heidenheim. These are things that must not happen to us. We will draw the right conclusions from this so that things are already much better on Saturday."
Team News
Thomas Meunier and Mateu Morey are out, while Füllkrug is questionable.