Freiburg vs Borussia Dortmund

Freiburg and Borussia Dortmund are set to trade tackles in a tasty-looking Bundesliga showdown at the Europa-Park Stadion.

Freiburg couldn’t have hoped for a more promising Bundesliga start following last season’s heartbreaking fifth-place finish. Christian Streich’s side overcame TSG Hoffenheim and Werder Bremen via single-goal margins in the opening two rounds before Stuttgart brought them back down to earth with a 5-0 thumping on the stroke of September’s international break. Having been given a fortnight to recuperate, ‘Breisgau-Brasilianer’ will be keen to upset the apple cart and arrest a three-game losing run against Dortmund. Freiburg’s bounce-back ability has been off the charts, with Streich’s men following eight of their last ten Bundesliga defeats with a triumph (D1, L1). That promises to help them avoid another mauling at the hands of Dortmund, which has seen their last three top-flight H2Hs yield a 13-3 aggregate score in favor of the visitors.

Luckily for Freiburg, Borussia Dortmund’s recovery from a devastating defeat in last season’s Bundesliga title race to Bayern Munich hasn’t gone according to plan. After Donyell Malen’s 88th-minute strike propelled ‘Die Borussen’ to a narrow 1-0 home win over Cologne on day one, Edin Terzic’s men have drawn back-to-back league matches, including a 2-2 home draw against newly-promoted Heidenheim last time out. Dortmund spurned a 2-0 halftime lead in that stalemate, casting further doubt on their capacity to perform at the highest level without Jude Bellingham. But there’s no need for panic yet, considering the visitors have suffered just one defeat across their last 22 Bundesliga fixtures (W15, D6).