Taking the momentum with us to Leipzig

Both sides will go into the winter break knowing they can look forward to more European games in the New Year. Leipzig sealed their place in the round of 16 of the Champions League with a 2-1 win at Crvena zvezda, while SC currently sit second in their Europa League group following a 5-0 win against TSC Backa Topola. Head coach Christian Streich’s side will now be looking to carry the momentum from this victory – their biggest ever in the Europa League – with them into their upcoming Bundesliga clash. “I hope that we will travel to Leipzig with plenty of confidence,” he said. “The game against Topola should have left us with plenty.”

Both sides have been having mixed campaigns in domestic competition so far, with both being eliminated in the second round of the DFB-Pokal recently – Freiburg after having reached the final in 2022 and the semi-finals in 2023, and Leipzig as the two-time defending champions. Head coach Marco Rose’s side lost 2-0 in Mainz last time out, giving the Zerofivers their first win this season. “We’ve lost ground in the Bundesliga,” Rose said recently, with his side currently in fifth place, eight points behind league leaders Bayer 04 Leverkusen.

After losing 2-1 to Leverkusen on matchday 9, Freiburg fought back to earn a late point in a 3-3 draw against Borussia Mönchengladbach last time out. While the coaching staff haven’t been satisfied with the team’s defensive performances lately, it was an entirely different story against Topola. “The team were extremely disciplined and worked hard to put our opponents under pressure,” said Streich. Nicolas Höfler agreed, saying “We had a solid shape and were able to play the ball forward in attack. We now need to continue doing more of the same.”

Röhl hoping for more minutes

With their current position in the table, Leipzig seem well-positioned to once again be in the running for a Champions League spot. While Rose is expecting his side to “be aggressive and hungry against Freiburg,” Streich was full of praise for the “calmness” that his side exuded during mid-week. “The team played extremely well. We’re off to Leipzig on Sunday, which will be a tough challenge,” he said.

Despite the packed schedule in recent weeks, Merlin Röhl, who scored the opening goal against Topola, isn’t feeling the strain. “I’m a young player; I always have energy. If I’m on the pitch, then I’ll give it everything I have once again. I played 60 minutes in both the last two games, so I have a lot of energy left,” he said. SC will need this energy in order to take something off Leipzig, having not beaten the Bulls since the 2019/20 season.

Photo: Achim Keller