Having reached the final of the DFB-Pokal just two days ago, there is plenty of excitement in the Freiburg camp for the game against RB Leipzig in Berlin on 21st May. However, SC need to switch their focus right back to the Bundesliga again, with four games still to play. Preparations for the matchday 31 fixture against Borussia Mönchengladbach have been impacted by the midweek cup fixture. “We arrived back from Hamburg on Wednesday. Our main focus was on recovery work and just light training. We will really focus on Gladbach on Friday. We can’t do much though, we need the lads to still be fresh,” said head coach Christian Streich.

Unlike the visitors, who suffered a 3-1 derby defeat to 1. FC Köln last week, Freiburg go into this game on the back of two wins, having defeated Bochum in the league last Saturday and Hamburger SV in the DFB-Pokal semi-finals during the week. “That’s obviously great for us both physically and mentally,” commented Streich, who is excited for a full stadium on Saturday. He believes the result will come down to the tactics. “We need to think hard about our approach. We need a team that can get through the whole game again. I know that we can do it, but we need to find a balance.” Almost all SC players are fit. The only absentees will be Yannik Keitel, Kevin Schade and Manuel Gulde, who all missed the last two games too. It’s not yet clear whether Lukas Kübler will be back after he couldn’t play in Hamburg. “We’re not certain, but he may well be back.”

Excitement for a big crowd

Everyone at Freiburg will gladly recall the reverse fixture earlier this season in Mönchengladbach. SC won 6-0 away from home, with all the goals coming in the first half! This win, however, will not have any impact on this weekend’s match-up: “It’s not relevant anymore,” stressed Streich. One reason for that is – aside from their recent defeat to Köln – Gladbach have improved recently.  Adi Hütter’s team collected 10 points from their four games prior to the derby. “There’s no doubt about the quality they possess, even if they haven’t shown it often enough this season,” praised SC’s coach, who also added that losing to Köln at the moment is certainly not a terrible result. “Gladbach will definitely come to our place with fire in their bellies, so we will have to give our best on Saturday. We know that if we beat them, we’ll be in a very good position.”

Streich is looking forward to the home crowd on Saturday, after the fans made a great noise last time out against Bochum. “I was really happy after that game because I noticed the boost they gave us in the stadium.” This should again be the case on Saturday against the Foals.