SC Freiburg have spent the past couple of weeks fighting with the neighbours and this weekend is no different. After the Baden-Württemberg derby with VfB Stuttgart and the international derby with FC Basel, SCF now have a third meeting with local opposition, this time against fellow Baden side TSG Hoffenheim.

Freiburg came out on top against both Stuttgart and Basel and now look to complete the hat trick with a win over Hoffenheim, which is entirely possible given the head-to-head stats between the two clubs. SCF are unbeaten against Sunday’s opponents over the last eight games, having won six (including all three home ties) and drawn two.

Opponents strong away from home

Hoffenheim have managed to beat every other team in the Bundesliga at least once since they last found some joy against SCF – you have to go back to 2021 to find the last time Hoffenheim took all three points. With that being said, Hoffenheim have won all of their away games so far this season, in both the DFB-Pokal and against Union Berlin and Leverkusen in the Bundesliga. Christian Ilzer’s side seem a lot more comfortable away from home and haven’t suffered defeat on the road in five months – it just so happens that their last away loss came in Freiburg! TSG lost at home last weekend to Bayern München, however they did, according to Julian Schuster, “play quite well”.

SCF’s head coach expects Hoffenheim to be “a handful” and “a strong side with a lot of energy.” Freiburg defender Anthony Jung, who made his first start for the club against FC Basel in the Europa League, is looking forward to another home game: “We’re playing at home in front of our own fans, who we want to get right behind us by putting in a good performance. We also want to build on our recent victories.”

Focus on stability

The coaching staff hope that the team continues its three-game win streak: “We’re looking forward to the second home game in a row and hope we can go into it with the same sort of energy as the Basel game. Our defensive stability is even more important as we look to defend well against the versatility of our opponents,” explained Schuster.

The squad is expected to be rotated after the Europa League, for example, Johan Manzambi started the game in midweek, but is currently serving a Bundesliga suspension following his red card against Stuttgart. The team is also celebrating the return of some recently injured players to training, as well as coming through the Europa League tie unscathed: “Everyone who played on Wednesday is healthy even with it being such an intense game. The boys are fit,” said Schuster. “We’ll wait until we’ve finished our final bits of preparation before making a decision on who starts the game.”