Finally, the real football starts again for VfB, and it kicks off with a challenging away game — even though we have a better sense of the team’s performance level after the Supercup.
In recent years, the matches have often been on equal footing, said VfB right-back and former Freiburg player Pascal Stenzel on the VfB website earlier this week. Apart from the first game of last season, this is quite an accurate description, yet as a VfB fan, one might wonder if we shouldn’t actually win tomorrow’s game in the Breisgau. The team with the red stripe won twice last season, so nothing should go wrong in this next encounter, especially after the strong performance in the Supercup, right? But last season was last season; now it’s time to sharpen our focus again, especially since we’re starting the season with an away game, unlike last time. Aside from the personnel situation, which I’ll get to in a moment, it will be crucial for VfB to start the season fully alert from the beginning and to maintain the intensity from the Leverkusen match. Especially since the team faces two more games in the next seven days before heading off on international duty again.
I have no way to gauge Freiburg, and a 4–0 win in Osnabrück doesn’t really help either. No one will underestimate the seemingly wealthy runner-up, and SCF has proven to be a tough opponent in the past. I’m curious to see if Junior Adamu will confirm the positive impressions from the preseason, how former VfB player Julian Schuster will fare in his Bundesliga debut as a coach, if Vincenzo Grifo can still get on our nerves at 31, and if we might be able to exploit Florian Müller’s weakness with high balls. After scoring eight goals against Freiburg in the last two games, it will be crucial for us to capitalize on our chances, especially because the
Personnel Situation
is particularly precarious in defense.
Leonidas Stergiou has a back inflammation, Anthony Rouault partially dislocated his shoulder, Daxo Zagadou and Josha Vagnoman are still behind in training. And now, just yesterday, Yannik Keitel twisted his ankle. So, things could get interesting defensively. And as of Friday afternoon, there is still no replacement for Waldemar Anton. This presents certain challenges when considering a
Possible Starting Lineup
Assuming Mittelstädt is fit to play, I would place Keitel in Rouault’s position, or if he’s also out, Hendriks. Although Hendriks has as many official match minutes in a VfB jersey as Anrie Chase, he has more professional experience. The first matchday may not be the optimal stage for a debut for a young central defender. This way, the crucial double pivot remains intact. Up front, I wasn’t convinced by Leweling or Silas in Leverkusen, so I would start with Demirovic and Undav, supported by Millot and Führich, who are of course more flexible in their positions than depicted here.
Statistics
This is the 50th encounter between the two clubs since Freiburg’s first Bundesliga promotion 31 years ago, 44 of them in the Bundesliga. With 26 wins, VfB still has the upper hand, although Freiburg has won 17 times. Before last season, VfB lost six consecutive league matches against Freiburg (2:3, 1:2, 2:3, 0:2, 0:1, 1:2), but last season, of course, ended many similar streaks. Otherwise, there aren’t many statistics available before the first matchday.
Conclusion
I’m really excited about the upcoming season and am quite optimistic that we’ll have as much fun as we did last season. Tomorrow in Freiburg, VfB will need to compensate for the thin defensive lineup and be significantly more effective than they were against Leverkusen. Even SC Freiburg won’t leave large gaps if they take the lead in their own stadium, so the attitude towards tomorrow’s game is particularly important. If the team manages to play to their potential, I’m confident it will be enough to fight for three points.
Picture: © Christian Kaspar-Bartke/Getty Images