Nothing to lose and nothing to give away

Two games against Bayern in five days. Tuesday’s DFB-Pokal tie against the record champions comes three days before a Bundesliga fixture against the same opponent. The focus, however, is solely on Tuesday’s game. “The next game is always the most important one,” said Maximilian Eggestein after the game against Hertha BSC. “We can go to Munich full of confidence. We’re still unbeaten in seven games in the league.” SC Freiburg are yet to win away against Bayern and have drawn twice in Munich. For head coach Christian Streich, that can be a benefit. “That always motivates you a bit that if we can pull it off, it would be really special.”

The team is not lacking any motivation, with the prize at stake a place in the semifinals and the best four teams in Germany. “We’re all really looking forward to the game. Luckily instead of having training tomorrow, we have a cup quarterfinal against FC Bayern,” said Streich, who admits to having tried a number of different approaches in Munich in the past, but was also full of praise of what the team has achieved recently. “We were in the last 16 of the Europa League, DFB-Pokal final last May and now we’re in the quarters again this season. That’s sensational. We don’t have anything to lose now, nor do we have anything to give away.”

Free rather than fearful

Four things that Streich wants to see from his team in the battle with Bayern are full energy, confidence, bravery and an inner motivation. “I would rather us play freely than with fear. We need all of our energy and every duel that we win needs to give us motivation,” said Streich. “And then we can and want to show that we can play football too – not just Bayern.”

Bayern coast into quarterfinals

For all the perceived off-the-field problems at Bayern that culminated in a change of head coach during the international break, the record champions didn’t have any issues on the pitch. “It doesn’t make any difference to us whether it’s Julian Nagelsmann or Thomas Tuchel on the sideline,” said Christian Streich. New head coach Tuchel enjoyed a dream debut against Borussia Dortmund, with his new side winning 4-2 and taking back top spot after racing into a 4-0 lead. Thomas Müller played a key role in the result and found the back of the net twice.

Müller was also involved in the DFB-Pokal last 16 tie, a 4-0 win over Mainz, but was brought off after around half an hour after receiving a booking in the first half. FCB have made light work of their journey to the quarters, winning 5-0 in the first round against third-tier side Viktoria Köln and 5-2 against FC Augsburg before the victory against Mainz. For Freiburg, the route hasn’t been such a walk in the park; extra time was required against Kaiserslautern and St. Pauli, while the regular-time victory over Sandhausen came late on.

Gregoritsch returns

Michael Gregoritsch will be available for selection again for the tie in Munich after missing the weekend’s game against Hertha due to a yellow card suspension. However, the game comes too soon for Philipp Lienhart, but Lukas Kübler could return after missing the Hertha game. While Noah Atubolu has played in goal for the last two cup games, Mark Flekken will be between the posts on Tuesday night. “The choice was made given the whole situation that we find ourselves in and does not mean that we don’t trust Noah,” said Streich on the decision.