SC Freiburg vs. Bochum preview: VfL still searching for first win
Winless Bochum travel south to face Freiburg, who need three points to keep pace in hopes of securing a third straight year of European football.
SC Freiburg
It’s been a so-so start to the season for the Breisgau club, who sit 9th in the league table. Luckily, veteran Nicolas Höfler will return from suspension this weekend and slot back into the midfield alongside Maximilian Eggestein.
Lingering questions remain over what Christian Streich should do at left back with captain Christian Günter out for the foreseeable future. He’s tried a back three and a back four, but Lukas Kübler is expected to get the starting nod on Saturday despite some fans hoping to see Noah Weißhaupt play from the off.
It’s of note that Freiburg drew against last-place Swiss club FC Basel in a friendly during the international break.
This week, Streich said, "Bochum defended very well (against Leipzig). They had 2-3 really good opportunities themselves and didn't allow many chances. I can imagine that they will perform similarly against us. - If we play a good game, are really there, and can generate energy then it should be really difficult for Bochum."
Team News
Günter and Daniel-Kofi Kyereh are unavailable. Michael Gregoritsch will be back in the squad and Lucas Höler is expected to play despite not training last week.
Bochum
Bochum have mightily struggled to start the campaign and they also suffered defeat to second-division side Hannover 3-1 in a friendly over the break. They own the worst goal difference in the league, but did manage a positive draw to Leipzig on Matchday 7.
Trainer Thomas Letsch shared his pleasure to the media this week with Freiburg loanee Keven Schlotterbeck’s leadership, who's expected to start again. Philipp Hofmann and Takuma Asano are expected to continue up front from the off for an offense that has only three goal scorers this season.
In his presser, Thomas Letsch mentioned, “The statistics show that we have a lot of shots on goal. However, the quality of the shots must be higher. This is a complex topic. The fact is that we have scored too few goals and conceded too many so far.”
Team News
Patrick Osterhage can’t play due to muscle problems, while Matus Bero, Michael Esser, Lys Mousset, and Mohammed Tolba will all likely miss out.