The Bavarians’ visit marks their 2,000th Bundesliga fixture, with the record champions having won 1,206 of their top-flight games up to now. In order to keep that stat as it is, at least for the next week, Freiburg must “be strong to stand up to their opponents,” according to head coach Christian Streich, who added: “I trust the boys to do that.”
The defeat at Augsburg last weekend has quickly been put in the past. “We’ve done barely any video analysis. We just couldn’t keep up in the second half. I believe, though, that tomorrow can be a very different story to Augsburg, especially seeing as we have two days longer to prepare.”
Question marks over Kübler
Lukas Kübler had to be substituted in the first half of Saturday’s defeat with a thigh issue, and remains a doubt for the match against Bayern. The game will also come too soon for Philipp Lienhart, but his recovery is progressing well. “It’s looking like he’ll be able to come back soon,” said Streich. The 27-year-old could return to team training as early as next week.
Matthias Ginter and Christian Günter were able to get some minutes under their belts against Augsburg following their own injuries. “They coped well,” reported Streich. “Every time they play, they build up strength. It’s always a question of when you give them the game time.
Tough run-in before international break
Thomas Tuchel’s side currently sit second in the Bundesliga standings, eight points behind league leaders Bayer Leverkusen. Bayern have been contending with injury woes for long stretches of the season, too. “Thomas said that none of the players have ever had to sit in the stands, since there’s always been enough space in the matchday squad. It goes without saying that that’s affected their chances,” noted Streich.
SC have struggled for success in the league of late, but that’s not to say that Freiburg’s head coach is unhappy with his team: “Despite all of our problems, we’ve put in some good performances recently. Yes, we haven’t played well all the time, but that’s understandable. We’ll do everything we can against Bayern to carve out opportunities for ourselves.”
The coming weeks will see the Breisgau boys face West Ham United home and away in the Europa League either side of a visit to VfL Bochum, before facing high-flyers Bayer Leverkusen in their final fixture before the March international break. “We’re looking forward to every game and will try to stay focused on the task at hand,” explained Streich. “We’re going to need everything we’ve got to be competitive in those games.”
Photo: Achim Keller