Freiburg are unbeaten in their last nine competitive games and travel to the Rhineland top of the Bundesliga table. Their next three fixtures will be against teams occupying fourth, third and sixth place in the table.

The away trip to Leverkusen kicks off this challenging run of fixtures. Speaking on his podcast “PIPAPO,” Nils Petersen discussed his former club’s strong start to the season, saying: “At the moment, they’re playing like a top-four team,” before looking ahead to the next two Bundesliga matches. “Now they’re off to Leverkusen, before hosting Bayern. After that, you can reassess them.”

SC’s last win away to Bayer Leverkusen came in 2022, when a 3-2 win saw the Breisgau side take all three points, but Bayer are in good form. Carles Martinez’s side have won both of their home matches this season, with their attacking play particularly impressive of late. Bayer scored four goals in each of their most recent outings, away to Mainz in the Bundesliga and against Lech Poznan in the Europa League.

Plenty of options available in Leverkusen 

“They’re a team that really have come together over the last few games and have plenty of quality going forward. They play with a lot of heart and character,” said Julian Schuster after his side’s opening win in the Conference League. The fans at the BayArena, including 2,000 SC supporters, can therefore look forward to a meeting between two sides who are both strong going forward. Leverkusen head coach Martinez echoed that view, saying, “Both teams are coming into the game in great form, so we can expect a fantastic match.”

Vincenzo Grifo, one of seven players brought into the starting XI against Jablonec, scored a superb free kick in that match and struck a cautiously optimistic note ahead of the trip to face the Werkself. “We have to believe in our quality. It’s going to be tough in Leverkusen.”

The coaching staff will have more options available than they did for the Conference League match. Derry Scherhant and Niklas Beste, who had both recently picked up knocks, should be available again. “I’m hopeful that both will be fit again by Sunday,” said Schuster, who also had words of praise for the wide pairing that featured against Jablonec. “I was very pleased with Vince and Cyriaque. It’s good to know we can travel to Leverkusen with good squad depth in that area.”
Schuster and his coaching staff will have to find a replacement for Yuito Suzuki, though. The Japanese midfielder is suspended for the trip to Leverkusen after two yellow cards saw him sent off against Schalke 04.