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SC Freiburg match preview
Julian Nagelsmann on...
...the opposition.
SC Freiburg are a dangerous side. They play with their heart on their sleeves and they are young and willing. As a team they are aggressive in their pressing. On the pitch, they play as their coach experiences things on the touchline. I therefore need to need to prepared for the emotions of the game myself. Ultimately though, it is not Nagelsmann versus Streich, but Hoffenheim against Freiburg. The players on the pitch will decide the outcome of the game, but of course both coaches can have some influence on the game. Freiburg also have some good individual players and play with a high tempo up top, making them very dangerous. Vincenzo Grifo is a threat for them going forward, especially from dead-ball situations. We will have to keep him in check.
…the TSG squad.
As far as I am aware, all of our players on international duty have returned without any injuries. The last players in action will return on Thursday, with Eduardo Vargas the last to arrive back later this evening. We will have to wait and see if he will be ready to play on Saturday. He has had 22 hours of travelling over the last few days and will obviously be fighting a bit of jet-lag. I will have to speak to him to see if he is ready. Pirmin Schwegler and Mark Uth are still out injured.
...the sporting situation 1
We are always looking to win. That is the best thing about sport. If we can celebrate our third win in a row, then that would be great. To go on a little streak like that would be a worthwhile reward for the week of training we have done. The game will be a near sell-out, as Freiburg isn’t that far away and is even in the same state. It’s therefore a derby match, which is always special, even if we are just fighting for three points, like every other game.
...the sporting situation II
Despite the international break, we have been able to stick to our schedule in the last two weeks. There were two main areas in which we worked very hard on in this time.
...the sporting situation III
I hope that we can play with the same defensive stability as in the last games. We have made a lot of progress at the back, but we want to keep on improving. I strive for perfection, even though it isn’t possible. We want to give away as few chances as possible. In an ideal world, we won’t give them any chances, but that will be difficult.
Games between the two sides:
TSG and SCF have played against each other 15 times before, 12 of those games being in the Bundesliga, one in the DFB Cup and two in the second division. The overall record is in Freiburg’s favour, with Saturday's away side having won five games to TSG's three. Seven draws have also been played in this time, with the last four games ending in a draw. The clashes in Hoffenheim are always goal-fests, with the last two games in Hoffenheim ending 3-3 respectively.
The opposition’s form:
Freiburg have recorded three wins in their six Bundesliga games so far, losing the other three fixtures. All of their wins have come at home, with away defeats to Hertha BSC, Borussia Dortmund and FC Köln, who are all currently sitting second, third and fourth in the table, respectively. Freiburg are a threat going forward and will bring a lot of confidence with them.
Key Game:
Freiburg will bring a very intensive style of play to the Rhein-Neckar-Arena. So far this season, no team has run further per game than Freiburg (116.55 kilometres) and no team has run further without the ball (299.75 kilometres). Five Freiburg players have completed over 100 sprints so far this season, including Vincenzo Grio, Maximilian Philipp, Floran Niederlechner and Onor Bulut. This high intensity running doesn’t just apply for Freiburg attacks however, but also pressuring their opponents when they don’t have the ball.
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