SC Freiburg have plenty to look forward to this year, especially given that the club are still competing in three competitions. In February, they will take on Hertha BSC for a spot in the semi-finals of the DFB-Pokal, while SC are still unbeaten in fifth place in the league phase of the Europa League. And in the Bundesliga, Julian Schuster’s side can now looking forward to a clash with RB Leipzig, with SC sitting in eighth place with 23 points ahead of Wednesday’s game. 

The head coach is feeling good ahead of the game, with nearly a full squad to choose from. “We have several options at our disposal, with nearly a full squad in training,” he said. “That leaves me feeling good ahead of our upcoming matches.” 

SC were able to get the year off to a winning start, coming back from 1-0 down to beat ten-man Hamburger SV 2-1 on the weekend. SC hung on to get all three points, even with nearly 11 minutes of injury time added on. “At times you could see that certain aspects were a bit lacking,” Schuster said about the match. “We were okay with this, as we didn’t have long to prepare for it.” 

On what will be the final matchday in the first half of the season, SC prepare to travel to Leipzig, a venue that hasn’t brought them much success in recent times. Freiburg have drawn on three of their 10 visits and are still waiting for their first win there. “The statistics don’t have any impact on how we approach a game. That’s something that we as a coaching staff try to pass on to the team in order to head into the game feeling positive. We know what we’re up against and now have another chance on Wednesday to get the better of Leipzig,” said Schuster. 

He added, “They are often found playing in the spaces in between and have strong wingers out wide, who they look to get involved. Their counter-press helps to usher in phases in which we might find ourselves defending deep. We will need to withstand these.” Schuster continued, “The important thing is to find good solutions when we do have the ball and to use our phases of possession to grow stronger.” 

Philipp Lienhart will not travel with the team, having been taken off with an injury during the win against HSV. The centre-back is expected to be sidelined for several weeks with an abdominal injury. 

Photo: Achim Keller