SC Freiburg vs. Borussia Mönchengladbach preview: Hosts eye historic Bundesliga start
| Freiburg fans during their clash against Paderborn on 5th September 2026. | Christof Koepel/Getty Images |
Freiburg
Five games, five wins.
Freiburg could hardly have made a better start to the new campaign, and Julian Schuster's side now have the opportunity to make a little piece of club history when Borussia Mönchengladbach make the long trip to Breisgau.
After opening their Bundesliga season with an impressive 4-1 victory against Werder Bremen, Freiburg followed that up with a 1-0 win at Paderborn last time out.
Maximilian Eggestein scored the only goal of the afternoon in the 26th minute, with Schuster's side having to dig deep after the break to protect their advantage and maintain their perfect start.
Alongside their two league victories, Freiburg have won each of their opening five competitive matches this season, and another three points on Saturday would see them win their first three Bundesliga games of a campaign for the first time in the club's history.
Recent history is firmly on their side too, with the Breisgauer unbeaten in their previous ten meetings with Gladbach and without losing a Bundesliga home game against the Foals in almost 25 years.
Last season's corresponding fixture ended in a 2-1 Freiburg victory, with former Gladbach defender Matthias Ginter and Igor Matanovic finding the net before Haris Tabakovic pulled one back late on.
Team news
Schuster has received positive news ahead of Saturday's meeting, with Freiburg reporting no fresh absentees.
Patrick Osterhage has returned to team training after his recent muscular problem, while Rihito Yamamoto continues to build towards a return to the first-team squad after picking up minutes with the U23s.
With five wins already under their belt, Schuster could therefore have plenty of options available as he looks to maintain his side's perfect start.
Click here to see our predicted Freiburg lineup
Borussia Mönchengladbach
While Freiburg have enjoyed a perfect start, the same certainly cannot be said for Borussia Mönchengladbach.
Eugen Polanski's side remain without a point after their opening two Bundesliga fixtures, having suffered a 3-0 defeat against RB Leipzig before a remarkable collapse at home to newly-promoted Elversberg.
Gladbach appeared to be on course for their first victory after a Hugo Bolin brace and Joseph Scally's goal helped them into a 3-1 lead, but Elversberg came roaring back to secure a dramatic 4-3 win through Maurice Krattenmacher's stoppage-time winner.
That leaves Polanski's side under early pressure heading into one of the Bundesliga's toughest away fixtures for Gladbach historically.
The Foals are now winless in ten meetings with Freiburg, while they have not won away against the Breisgau side in the Bundesliga since 2002.
With seven goals already conceded across two matches, Gladbach will need a considerable improvement defensively if they are to stop Freiburg from making history on Saturday.
Team news
Polanski's task is made considerably harder by an extensive injury list.
Jens Castrop remains sidelined following shoulder surgery, while Enzo Leopold and Yukhym Konoplia are also unavailable with knee injuries. Daiki Hashioka is set to miss out too.
Deadline-day arrival Nicolas Kühn has now joined them on the sidelines after suffering a hamstring injury, with the winger expected to be unavailable for several weeks.
The absences could once again see Mathieu Nguefack feature in midfield, while Kevin Stöger is another option for Polanski as Gladbach search for their first points of the season.
