Freiburg will be looking to get 2025 in the Bundesliga off to a winning start when they play host to a struggling Holstein Kiel at Europa-Park Stadion on Saturday afternoon.
The hosts are sat in mid-table with 24 points after the first 15 games of the season, while the visitors are the second-bottom, just two points above basement club Bochum.
Match preview
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Freiburg have made a mixed start to the 2024-25 Bundesliga season, having recorded seven wins, three draws and five defeats in their first 15 games, but given how tightly compact the mid-table is, they are just one point below the European qualification spots.
The Breisgau Brazilians had a fairly poor December, which began with them being dumped out of the DFB-Pokal by lower division Arminia Bielefeld 3-1, and ended with a crushing 5-1 defeat at the hands of defending champions Bayer Leverkusen.
In between those defeats, Julian Schuster's side played out a disappointing 1-1 draw away to Hoffenheim and almost allowed a three-goal lead to slip against Wolfsburg but managed to hold on to a 3-2 victory.
However, the Breisgau side have been very good at Europa-Park Stadion this term, having notched up 16 points including five wins, which is the same number of victories they managed on their home patch across the entire last season.
Freiburg have not fared well against newly promoted teams in recent times, managing just a single victory in their last five such encounters, with the most recent ending in defeat to St. Pauli on matchday five back in September.
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Meanwhile, Holstein Kiel have only ever faced this opponent once in professional football, and they will have fond memories of that match, as they beat Freiburg 2-1 to knock them out of the DFB-Pokal in the 2018-19 season.
The Storks could certainly do with a repeat of that result this weekend, as they have only earned eight points from their first 15 games in the top flight, which leaves them two points behind third-bottom Heidenheim and six points from safety.
However, Marcel Rapp's side did end last year on a positive note, smashing Augsburg 5-1 at home to become the first Bundesliga debutants to score five times in a match since Hoffenheim against Hannover 96 nearly two decades ago.
Holstein Kiel are still winless after their first seven away league games this season though (W0 D2 L5), and if they fail to get three points this week, they will become the first top-flight debutants to fail to win any of their first eight on the road in 24 years.
Team News
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Schuster opted to deploy Lucas Holer in a slightly deeper role in their thrashing against Bayer Leverkusen last time out, but he will likely revert to a more conventional 4-4-2 in this match, with the German forward partnering Michael Gregoritsch in attack.
The hosts will be without at least two players for this match due to injury, with Bruno Ogbus (Achilles) ruled out for the remainder of the season and Daniel-Kofi Kyereh sidelined until next month, having undergone knee surgery a few months ago.
After missing the first seven matches of the season following his move from FC Homburg in the summer, Phil Harres has now featured in the last eight games for Holstein Kiel and has netted four times, including a brace in the demolition of Augsburg last month.
Rapp will have to make do without midfield duo Colin Kleine-Bekel (ACL) and Patrick Erras (head) this week due to injury, while Marvin Schulz (groin) and Steven Skrzybski (Achilles) are listed as doubts.
Freiburg possible starting lineup:
Atubolu; Kubler, Ginter, Lienhart, Gunter; Eggestein, Osterhage, Grifo, Doan; Holer, Gregoritsch
Holstein Kiel possible starting lineup:
Weiner; Ivezic, Geschwill, Komenda; Rosenboom, Holtby, Remberg, Gigovic, Porath; Harres, Machino
We say: Freiburg 2-1 Holstein Kiel
While Holstein Kiel managed to claim a big home win ahead of the December break, they have been very poor on the road this season, having conceded two or more goals in every away match and still winless after seven games.
Freiburg have not been at their best this term either, but they are one of the best in the division when playing on their home patch, and we feel they should come away from this one with all three points.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Devesh Jaganath
