SC Freiburg

Matthias Ginter will not be present as he’s been struggling with an Achilles tendon injury last time out and had to be substituted after 83 minutes in the 3-1 defeat against VfB Stuttgart. “He’s been dealing with pain for quite a few weeks,” Christian Streich said on Ginter. “We’ve decided to treat his injury conservatively. He’s getting treatment on a daily basis and we need to see how things develop. We can’t make any predictions.”

The match got off to a rough start for the hosts, as Stuttgart took the lead early on. A long ball from the VfB defence sailed across the pitch and found Deniz Undav, who beat three Freiburg players to open the scoring in the third minute. The striker is currently deputising for the absent Serhou Guirassy, and is his side’s top goalscorer in this timeframe.

Regardless of the colour of their kit, SCF’s opponents on Saturday will provide a stern test, having given an impressive demonstration of their potential in last weekend’s 5-2 triumph over RB Leipzig. “Stuttgart’s quality has been evident since last season. They were very strong in the second half of the season,” said Christian Streich. “Obviously they have possibilities through the companies that support them. Because of that they’ve got a very strong team who are tactically and technically very good.” Stuttgart currently sit third in the table – “fully deserved,” reckons the Freiburg head coach.

SC made two changes to their starting XI following last weekend’s win over Hoffenheim. Lukas Kübler replaced Manuel Gulde (suspended), while Noah Weißhaupt came into the side for Roland Sallai (ill). Bremen came into the game without their match-winner from last weekend’s trip to Munich, with Mitchell Weiser sidelined with an adductor issue. The opening moments of the match saw the hosts record several attacks before being awarded a penalty in the seventh minute. Jordi Makengo was judged to have brought down his man after making contact with his opponent’s heel, with VAR coming into play to award Bremen a spot-kick. Marvin Ducksch duly stepped up and converted it to give them the lead. “We didn’t get off to a good start,” admitted Maximilian Eggestein afterwards.

A good record against Bremen

“Florent is a variable attacker who can play out wide as well as in a more central position. He has consistently delivered strong performances in Bundesliga 2 for several years and is now ready to take the next step,” said sporting director Jochen Saier. “Florent has excellent technique and is capable of starting moves in addition to finishing them off himself. We are extremely excited that he has chosen SC and are very pleased with this transfer.”

Muslija said about the move, “I was able to experience the incredible atmosphere at the Europa-Park Stadion during our cup game last autumn. Now, I’m looking forward to getting to know my new teammates, continuing to develop here and giving my best for SC Freiburg.”

Details of the contract will remain undisclosed.

“We have been able to find an excellent solution for our current situation. Attila has experience playing internationally and will be able to help us out right away,” said Klemens Hartenbach. “With his robust stature and strength at winning duels, he can be a key component in any defence. We’re very much looking forward to working together and are all working hard in order to achieve our joint aims.”

To remember the millions of people that were stigmatised, brutally persecuted and murdered during the Second World War, the players wore hoodies with the hashtag #everynamecounts on them, representing a project by the Arolsen Archives, the international center on Nazi persecution. The 27th January will mark the 79th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp.

Photo: Achim Keller

The coaching staff received this information on Thursday morning. “He wasn’t able to deal with high strain. We were already apprehensive and tried to deal with the issue conservatively at first,” SC’s head coach explained. The Austrian centre-back was in the squad for the game against Union Berlin last Saturday. “We’ll see what we can do now – whether we can still get someone in on loan, loan someone with an option to buy or just sign somebody. We’re discussing all options and we won’t react hastily or do anything rash.”