Preview:Freiburg vs Stuttgart - prediction, team news, lineups

Freiburg will be desperate for their first Bundesliga win of the campaign, but they face the difficult task of trying to overcome Stuttgart on Saturday at Europa Park Stadion.

The hosts are last in 18th place with no points following their 4-1 loss against FC Koln on August 31, whereas the visitors beat Borussia Monchengladbach 1-0 a day earlier and are in eighth place with three points.

Match preview

Freiburg can have no complaints with their loss against FC Koln, especially as they produced just one big chance compared to Koln's four.

Their record of seven goals shipped in their first two league games of the 2025-26 season is concerning, particularly considering they only conceded seven in their first six Bundesliga matches of 2024-25.

Boss Julian Schuster will hope to avoid creating unwanted history on Saturday given a loss would be just the second time the hosts have ever been beaten in their first three games of a Bundesliga season, and the first since 1995-96.

Breisgau-Brasilianer have now lost three consecutive fixtures in the Bundesliga, and they only scored one goal in each of those three losses.

Schuster's side were defeated in their only home outing this campaign - a 3-1 loss against Augsburg on August 23 - and they have lost four, been held to two stalemates and emerged victorious in just one of their last seven league games.

Stuttgart managed to win against Borussia Monchengladbach despite failing to generate a single big chance, and they were fortunate that opposition players like Kevin Stoger squandered golden opportunities in the final third.

Die Roten have only scored twice in the Bundesliga this term, and they have conceded eight in their four games in all competitions.

Stuttgart won 4-0 when they faced Freiburg in January, and that was their third win in their past four league games against their hosts, who they had lost to in each of their previous five clashes.

Head coach Sebastian Hoeness has overseen just one victory in regulation time in 2025-26 - his side were beaten on two occasions - whereas they had won their final four outings of 2024-25.

Stuttgart's only match on the road in the Bundesliga this season was a 2-1 loss against Union Berlin on August 23, but the visitors had won three and drawn one of their last four away games of their prior top-flight campaign.

Freiburg Bundesliga form:

Freiburg form (all competitions):

Stuttgart Bundesliga form:

Stuttgart form (all competitions):

Team News

Freiburg's only injury absentee is midfielder Daniel-Kofi Kyereh, but with trusted duo Maximilian Eggestein and Patrick Osterhage both declared fit, the hosts should still be able to deploy a strong double pivot.

Goalkeeper Noah Atubolu may be protected by central defenders Matthias Ginter and Philipp Lienhart.

Number nine Lucas Holer is likely to appear, and he could be supported by attacking midfielder Johan Manzambi.

Stuttgart have not been fortunate with injuries, and they must find ways of dealing with the absences of defenders Ameen Al Dakhil, Leonidas Stergiou and Luca Jaquez.

Josha Vagnoman, Finn Jeltsch, Ramon Hendriks and Maximilian Mittelstadt are candidates to be stationed in a four-man defence on the weekend.

Considering forwards Tiago Tomas and Deniz Undav are set to miss out, Jamie Leweling, Bilal El Khannouss and Chris Fuhrich can be expected to feature behind striker Ermedin Demirovic.

Freiburg possible starting lineup:

Atubolu; Kubler, Ginter, Lienhart, Gunter; Eggestein, Osterhage; Beste, Manzambi, Grifo; Holer

Stuttgart possible starting lineup:

Nubel; Vagnoman, Jeltsch, Hendriks, Mittelstadt; Karazor, Stiller; Leweling, El Khannouss, Fuhrich; Demirovic