Bundesliga: Freiburg Go for Hat-Trick of Home Wins over Dortmund

SC Freiburg vs Borussia Dortmund

Freiburg find themselves in second place in the Bundesliga through one matchday after their dominant 4-0 win over Augsburg in the season opener. The Brazilians of Breisgau had a brilliant campaign last season and will be looking to finish even higher in the table this year.

Christian Streich’s side will face their first real test of the new season as they take on Borussia Dortmund, but they will not be afraid of their big-name visitors.

Freiburg have won back-to-back home games against BVB and will be going for the hat-trick this weekend as they face a Dortmund side with their fair share of injury concerns.

Talking Points

Freiburg’s new faces fire on their debut

After their fine sixth-place finish last season, Freiburg are off to a fantastic start this year as they smashed Augsburg 4-0, with all four goals coming in the second half.

Freiburg owed much of their success last season to their strong defence, but they lost one of the key pieces of that formidable backline this summer as Nico Schlotterbeck – who was one of the top defenders in the Bundesliga last season – was sold to Dortmund.

However, they got back German international Matthias Ginter, who should serve as a capable replacement for Schlotterbeck. Ginter scored on his Freiburg return against Augsburg, as did fellow debutants Michael Gregoritsch and Ritsu Doan.

With their other summer signings – Gregoritsch, Doan, and attacking midfielder Daniel-Kofi Kyereh – Freiburg prioritised improving their attack, which was quite mediocre last season. They ranked a distant 10^th in expected goals (49.9) but they overperformed that and scored 58 goals. Vincenzo Grifo led the team with 9 league goals, although five of them were from the penalty spot.

Doan and Gregoritsch both started against Augsburg in Streich’s more adventurous 4-2-3-1 formation, and they have likely done enough to keep their places against Dortmund.

Borussia Dortmund battling injury concerns

Borussia Dortmund had a busy summer as they made a handful of key signings – Sebastien Haller, Karim Adeyemi, Nico Schlotterbeck, Salih Ozcan, and Nicklas Sule – to help boost their Bundesliga 2022 odds of dethroning champions Bayern Munich.

However, the injury bug has already bitten those new players at the start of the season. Haller is set to miss significant time due to his unfortunate cancer diagnosis, while Niklas Sule is still a week or two away from returning from a thigh injury.

Meanwhile, Adeyemi left in the first half of Dortmund’s season opener against Bayer Leverkusen – which BVB won 1-0 thanks to a Marco Reus goal – after picking up a foot injury. And Schlotterbeck says he suffered a dislocated shoulder, which he played through.

It’s doubtful Adeyemi will be able to recover in time to play this weekend, but Schlotterbeck should be able to face his former side despite his shoulder problem.

Moreover, BVB will likely have new signing Anthony Modeste available to make his debut. The 34-year-old striker, who was brought in to help make up for Haller’s absence, is a proven Bundesliga goalscorer. He is coming off a career-best campaign where he scored 20 goals in 32 league appearances for Koln.

Modeste will look to make some Bundesliga 2022 highlights against Freiburg, against whom he scored in both matches last season and has scored 7 goals in 10 career matches.

History

Dortmund have dominated Freiburg in the Bundesliga in recent years. BVB have a massive 18-3 advantage in terms of wins, with three draws.

However, Freiburg have finally begun to fight back in the last couple of seasons. They scored back-to-back wins over BVB in 2021, with both of those wins coming at home. Overall, Freiburg have lost just once in their last five home games against BVB.

But Dortmund got their revenge in the return fixture at Signal Iduna Park as they smashed Freiburg 5-1. Thomas Meunier and Erling Haaland bagged braces for BVB in that game, while Mahmoud Dahoud added a fifth four minutes from time.

Betting Tip

SBOTOP odds have Borussia Dortmund installed as slight 2.26 favourites over Freiburg, who are priced at 2.96 to win their home opener. A draw is 3.45.

As the tight odds suggest, this is quite a tough match to call. Either side is fully capable of winning, and it could also just as easily be a draw.

However, Freiburg do have a slight edge in my eyes. They will be at home, an advantage that has served them well against Dortmund recently. Moreover, they figure to have a more cohesive system under Christian Streich while BVB still seem to be finding their way with Edin Terzic.

With those factors in mind, look for Freiburg to give Dortmund all they can handle and avoid defeat on their home opener.

 

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