Bochum’s 7-0 defeat to FC Bayern last time out could be a double-edged-sword for Freiburg on Friday night. Although it was a heavy loss for VfL in front of their home crowd, Christian Streich has warned that Bochum will fight tooth and nail to bounce back: “The Bochum players will do everything they can to correct Sunday’s result. When you are beaten in that manner, you say to yourself ‘this won’t happen again.’ They won’t be wounded by it.”

There we three tough matches between the two sides last season and Freiburg came out on top in two of them. The 2-1 extra time-win in the quarterfinal of the DFB-Pokal will live long in the memory of every SCF fan. VfL are yet to pick up a point so far this season, but that does not mean it will be an easy test on Friday. “Bochum lost a lot of players at the end of the season and that is not easy. They still have the same mentality, however.”

Freiburg are also not lacking in mentality, as Maximilian Eggestein showed in the 1-0 win over Stuttgart last weekend. Despite a fractured wrist, the 25-year-old played for the full 98 minutes. Eggestein was successfully operated on after the game, but he will not be available for Friday. Lukas Kübler, Kevin Schade and Lucas Höler are all also set to miss out.

Keitel replaces Eggestein

Keitel will replace Eggestein to play alongside Nicolas Höfler. “Yannik has trained well and is in fine fettle. He works hard and I want him to have the opportunity to have a good game. He deserves it. I am very much looking forward to seeing him on the pitch,” said Streich.

Keitel came on for the final ten minutes against Stuttgart to help see the game out. Despite the celebrations after the final whistle, there is certainly room for improvement, particularly after the performance in the second half. “We lost the ball cheaply and it nearly cost us on a couple of occasions. There were also some things out of possession that we didn’t do very well. It’s been a short training week but we have spoken about the things we need to do ahead of Bochum.”

Excitement ahead of the Europa League

There is also a real sense of anticipation ahead of the Europa League draw, which is set to take place this Friday at 13:00 CEST. “It’s something pretty special because it’s not something you experience very often,” said Streich. The head coach also made it clear that he is happy to take on whoever comes SCF’s way: “I am looking forward to every possibility, even if we have to play in Azerbaijan. It would be good to play in a stadium I haven’t been to yet, though.”

Photo: Achim Keller