Not much has been won in Munich for SC Freiburg so far: just three points from three draws in 21 Bundesliga games at Bayern. But even with just one point, Freiburg would extend their unbeaten streak this season
When you talk about a top match, at least you wouldn’t lie. SC coach Christian Streich also had to admit that. Because for the first time, both teams are in the top three of the table before the Bayern vs Sport-Club duel. Freiburg have not yet lost a competitive match this season and travel to the league leaders with corresponding self-confidence. But Streich already warned after the home win against Fürth that his team will face “a lot of force and a lot of quality” in Munich, “I hope we can, in response to that, also counter with force and quality, within the scope of our possibilities”.
In view of the comfortable situation in the standings, Freiburg’s anticipation for the game at Bayern is perhaps a little greater than usual. “We’ll fight and play, and then we’ll see what kind of result comes out,” said the SC coach, “but it’s great that we can also go there with a certain form of ease – that is, properly understood ease.” And Nicolas Höfler, one of the scorers against Fürth, also said in an interview on the club website that the team is “realistic enough to know who we are playing and what the game normally looks like”. He gave a point as the minimum target.
Flekken tops Neuer: best defence meets best attack
The last time Sport-Club achieved that was in November 2018, in a 1-1 draw courtesy of a Lucas Höler goal. The other two draws at Bayern were much longer ago, in 1997 and 1995. There has never been a win there, and that is why the chances are not particularly good that Freiburg will set two away records on Saturday: They have already won six away games in this calendar year, only in 1995 they managed more (seven). And three away wins in a row would also be a club record, last achieved in 2019/20.
On the other hand, Freiburg have already achieved many records this season. And now the best attack in the league meets the best defence: while only Bayern have already scored 38 goals, only Freiburg have conceded just seven. Goalkeeper Mark Flekken has played a part in this, defending 81.6 per cent of all shots on goal, which is the best in the league, while Manuel Neuer is in third place with 71.4 per cent.
Höfler: “Focus on playing against the ball “
By the way, it should not be particularly rough on the pitch, because the two leading teams in the fair play table will meet: Freiburg have only received eight yellow cards and have not yet been sent off, while Bayern have received six yellows and one red. With 76 fouls, Bayern have committed the fewest in the league, while Freiburg have already been fouled 138 times, making them the most frequently fouled team in the league.
Höfler expects Bayern to have more possession as usual: “That’s why our focus must be on playing against the ball. That’s where we have to work off everything, play highly intensively and put the Bayern players under pressure again and again to force them into mistakes.” And when these happen, Freiburg must “exploit them ice-cold”. With an away win, Freiburg would even draw level on points with the league leaders.
