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Freiburg logo
Bundesliga | Gameweek 4
Sep 16, 2023 at 2.30pm UK
Schwarzwald-Stadion
Dortmund logo

Freiburg
2 - 4
Dortmund

Holer (45+2'), Hofler (45+6')
Lienhart (87'), Eggestein (89')
Hofler (82')
FT(HT: 2-1)
Hummels (11', 88'), Malen (60'), Reus (90+2')
Bensebaini (45+4'), Wolf (68'), Can (78')

Preview: Freiburg vs. Borussia Dortmund - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Saturday's Bundesliga clash between Freiburg and Borussia Dortmund, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Freiburg and Borussia Dortmund are separated by a solitary point in the Bundesliga table ahead of Saturday's showdown at the Europa-Park Stadion.

While the hosts have won two of their three league outings this season, the visitors have recorded one win and two draws to remain unbeaten.


Match preview

SC Freiburg coach Christian Streich before the match on May 13, 2023© Reuters

Freiburg entered the international break on the back of a shock 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Stuttgart, who raced into a 3-0 lead inside 19 minutes before heaping more misery on their visitors after the break, with Chris Fuhrich and Serhou Guirassy both scoring twice in the rout.

Christian Streich's men started the season on a high, claiming an easy DFB-Pokal victory over Oberachern before securing back-to-back league wins against Hoffenheim and Werder Bremen, but they were brought back down to earth with a bang last time out.

Still, only the top two - Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen - have picked up more points than Freiburg after three games, so Breisgau-Brasilianer will back themselves to return to winning ways as quickly as possible, having experienced a rare blip in their previous match.

It is also worth noting that Freiburg have lost just two of their last 17 Bundesliga encounters at the Europa-Park Stadion, meaning that Streich's side finished the previous campaign with the fifth-best home record in the division, in addition to the second-best defensive record on home soil.

Borussia Dortmund's Salih Ozcan and Nico Schlotterbeck look dejected on August 26, 2023© Reuters

Having missed out on the Bundesliga title in agonising fashion last season - leading the way for much of 2022-23 before surrendering to rivals Bayern Munich on the final day of the campaign - Borussia Dortmund would have been determined to hit the ground running this term.

However, the perennial runners-up have flattered to deceive so far, claiming a narrow 1-0 victory over FC Koln in their first match before recording draws against VfL Bochum and newly-promoted Heidenheim to leave them four points behind the early frontrunners.

Following an 88th-minute winner from Donyell Malen on the opening weekend, BVB conceded 20 shots against Bochum before throwing away a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 with Heidenheim last time out, despite racking up 19 goal attempts while dominating possession on home soil.

Even so, Dortmund have now avoided defeat in each of their last 11 Bundesliga outings, with a solitary loss coming in their previous 22 league games, so Edin Terzic and his players will be confident of kick-starting their campaign before too long.

Freiburg Bundesliga form:
  • W
  • W
  • L

Freiburg form (all competitions):
  • W
  • W
  • W
  • W
  • L
  • W

Borussia Dortmund Bundesliga form:
  • W
  • D
  • D

Borussia Dortmund form (all competitions):
  • D
  • W
  • W
  • W
  • D
  • D


Team News

Borussia Dortmund's Sebastien Haller looks dejected after misses a penalty as Emre Can looks on on May 27, 2023© Reuters

With Noah Atubolu (ankle), Christian Gunter (elbow), Lucas Holer (ankle), Yannik Keitel (groin) and Daniel-Kofi Kyereh (knee) sidelined through injury, Freiburg boss Christian Streich has plenty of selection dilemmas to address.

Lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, the hosts look set to start with Michael Gregoritsch as the lone striker on Saturday, while Roland Sallai, Lucas Holer and Vincenzo Grifo should operate behind the Austrian forward.

Borussia Dortmund will also be without a number of key players due to injury this weekend, with Julien Duranville (thigh), Niclas Fullkrug (muscle), Gregor Kobel (hip), Thomas Meunier (thigh) and Mateu Morey Bauza (knee) on the treatment table.

There are also question marks over the fitness of American playmaker Giovanni Reyna and Algerian defender Ramy Bensebaini, giving BVB manager Edin Terzic a lot to think about when it comes to choosing his starting XI.

Donyell Malen and Karim Adeyemi are expected to join former West Ham United striker Sebastien Haller in the visitors' three-man forward line, while midfielders Marcel Sabitzer, Emre Can and Julian Brandt should line up in a 4-3-3 formation.


Freiburg possible starting lineup:
Atubolu; Sildillia, Ginter, Lienhart, Kubler; Eggestein, Hofler; Sallai, Holer, Grifo; Gregoritsch

Borussia Dortmund possible starting lineup:
Meyer; Wolf, Sule, Schlotterbeck, Bensebaini; Sabitzer, Can, Brandt; Malen, Haller, Adeyemi


SM words green background

We say: Freiburg 2-2 Borussia Dortmund

We expect Freiburg and Borussia Dortmund to dish up a high-scoring thriller as both sides bid to return to winning ways, with a draw looking like the most probable outcome at the Europa-Park Stadion.



For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.


Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 2.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Over 2.5:data


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Written by
Ben Morris

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Game History

How you voted: Freiburg vs Dortmund

Freiburg
12.1%
Draw
39.4%
Borussia Dortmund
48.5%
33
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Werder Bremen's Niclas Fullkrug before the match on April 22, 2023
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Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Bayern MunichBayern14103142123033
2Bayer LeverkusenB. Leverkusen1485132201229
3Eintracht FrankfurtFrankfurt1483334201427
4RB Leipzig148332315827
5Freiburg147342019124
6Stuttgart146532924523
7Mainz 05Mainz146442519622
8Borussia DortmundDortmund146442521422
9Werder Bremen146442224-222
10Wolfsburg146353125621
11Borussia MonchengladbachBorussia M'bach146352319421
12Union BerlinUnion Berlin144551315-217
13Augsburg144461627-1116
14Hoffenheim143561926-714
15St Pauli143291119-811
16Heidenheim1431101831-1310
17Holstein Kiel1412111437-235
18VfL BochumVfL Bochum1403111135-243


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