Leverkusen vs. SC Freiburg preview: Can Bayer continue unbeaten run?
Freiburg are off to Leverkusen on Sunday in what's a brutal stretch for both clubs with a seemingly nonstop run of games.
Leverkusen
The company club sit atop the Bundesliga standings through eight matches and are a joy to watch under Xabi Alonso. Bayer kept their Europa League record perfect midweek in a 5-1 win over Qarabag while resting some key players including Jonathan Tah, Jonas Hofmann, and Jeremie Frimpong.
The regulars should all be back in the starting eleven on Sunday, as Leverkusen go for their 9th straight win in all competitions. Patrik Schick is back after a lengthy injury absence, but Victor Boniface will of course still continue up front.
In his presser, Alonso said, “It’s great for the league that not just one team is running away at the moment. How Stuttgart have started is great. Bayern are always there, Dortmund, Leipzig with Hoffenheim too. We see every year that the level goes up. It’s still early days but the ambition from us is there.”
Team News
Bayer have been fortunate on the injury front thus far, as Arthur is currently their only long-term absentee.
SC Freiburg
A hat trick from Vincenzo Grifo earned Freiburg a big Europa League win against Serbian side Backa Topola on Thursday. By Black Forest standards, it’s been a decent start to the Bundesliga campaign as well with Christian Streich still tinkering with the starting lineup.
It will be interesting to see if the legendary trainer continues with a back three of Manuel Gulde, Philipp Lienhart, and Matthias Ginter. This pushes temporary left-back Noah Weißhaupt and right-back Lukas Kübler further up the pitch, but the real question will be who starts at striker.
Lucas Höler, Michael Gregoritsch, and Junior Adamu are all fighting for the spot with Maximilian Philipp now injured.
When asked about Leverkusen, veteran midfielder Nicolas Höfler told kicker, “It's clear that we cannot stand for 90 minutes. We have to set our own tone with the ball, also to recharge our batteries. Running after Leverkusen for 90 minutes - then you have no chance, then they'll tear your ass off.”
Team News
Christian Günter, Daniel-Kofi Kyereh, and Max Rosenfelder are out. Philipp and Roland Sallai both picked up injuries midweek and likely won’t play.