Preview: Sportfreunde Lotte vs Freiburg - prediction, team news, lineups

SC Freiburg will be looking to start the 2025-26 campaign with a comfortable win in the DFL-Pokal clash when they face Regionalliga side VfL Sportfreunde Lotte at the Stadion am Lotter Kreuz on Saturday.

The hosts, a fourth division team, will be looking to recreate the magic of the cup competition by knocking out one of the heavyweight sides.

Match preview

For small clubs, the cup competitions bring an added excitement for the fans, and while there is a vast gulf in quality, players tend to give everything to make the occasion memorable.

Lotte finished third in the West Regionalliga table last season, collecting a grand total of 52 points, 17 points behind champions MSV Duisburg.

This is the sixth occasion the club will take part in DFB-Pokal, in which they lost in the first round four times and made the quarter-finals in 2016-17.

The Blau-Weiss have made a mixed start to the 2025-26 season, managing one draw, one win and a defeat in their first three league games.

While they are an incredibly well-drilled side, Fabian Lubbers will be disappointed to see that his team have failed to keep a clean sheet in the opening three matches and have conceded as many as eight goals.

SC Freiburg have progressed immensely under Julian Schuster, and it does not come as a big surprise that Kicker has named him the coach of the year.

The Breisgau-Brasilianer will play in the Europa League this season after finishing fifth last term, and expectations are high from the fans.

Schuster, who has recently signed a new deal at the club, has made some fantastic signings this summer, with six new players coming into the side.

The pre-season preparations have been solid, with Freiburg picking up a 1-1 draw and a 4-0 win against Hamburger SV at the Europa-Park Stadion.

Freiburg have never faced their opponent in their history, but they are familiar with the region. They faced VfL Osnabruck in the first round of DFB-Pokal last season, which is only ten minutes away from Lotte.

Sportfreunde Lotte form (all competitions):

D W L

Team News

Lotte will be without right-back Leonel Broderson for the game after he picked up a tibia and fibula fracture, and he will not return until the end of this month.

Apart from that, Lubbers has a fully fit squad to choose from, but he could make a few changes from the side that lost 5-3 against Borussia Dortmund II.

Freiburg defender Max Rosenfelder has been out injured with a hamstring injury since June, and Schuster could give him more time to recover fully.

Attacking midfielder Daniel-Kofi Kyereh is also currently out with fitness issues, and doubts remain whether he would be available for this game.

Philipp Treu is also nursing his injury and will take no part in the game. Last season, goalkeeper Noah Atubolu was injured, hence Flo Muller started, but the 23-year-old is set to feature behind the sticks on Saturday.

Sportfreunde Lotte possible starting lineup: Meyer; Uzelac, Milic, Reimer; Horn, Krasniqi, Klefisch, Kehl; Berisha, Demaj, Stublla

Freiburg possible starting lineup: Atubolu; Kubler, Ginter, Lienhart; Gunter, Eggestein, Osterhage; Dinkci, Holer, Grifo; Matanovic

We say: Sportfreunde Lotte 1-3 Freiburg

While Lotte will surely enjoy the occasion and try to make it a close contest, Freiburg's overall quality and the presence of new signings could be too much for them to handle.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.