SC know from last season what it feels like to begin a campaign with two defeats. A 3-1 loss to Augsburg followed by a 4-1 defeat in Cologne left Freiburg briefly bottom of the table in 2025/26, but they quickly responded to that difficult start. “We can imagine how focused the Gladbach players have been in training this week, what their mindset has been like and how they’ll want to approach Saturday’s game here,” said Julian Schuster of SC’s upcoming opponents.

Defeats to Leipzig (3-0) and Elversberg (4-3) have already put the Foals under pressure after two matchdays, but that will have no bearing on Freiburg’s preparations. “We’re only concentrating on the next 90 minutes and on preparing the team for the game,” explained Schuster.

Last weekend’s away win in Paderborn also gave SC plenty to work on in training this week. Freiburg came under considerable pressure at times in the second half against a Paderborn side playing without fear and struggled to play their way out from the back. “We’ve been very clear about what we need to improve,” said the 41-year-old.

Overall, however, SC have made an excellent start to the season, with five wins from five competitive matches. Another victory against Gladbach would also set a new club record, with Freiburg having never previously won their first three games of a Bundesliga season. Their recent record against the Foals also makes encouraging reading: SC are unbeaten in their last ten meetings with Gladbach overall and in their last 18 Bundesliga home games against them.

There is positive news on the injury front too as SC have no absentees to report. Patrick Osterhage has returned to team training and Rihito Yamamoto – who got some minutes for the U23s against Mannheim and Steinbach – continues to make progress towards a return to the first-team squad.

Photo: SC Freiburg