Not much has changed since Freiburg’s convincing 2-0 win over the French side last Thursday. SC maintained their unbeaten run in the Bundesliga by drawing 2-2 in the capital on Sunday, Kevin Schade getting a late equaliser away to Hertha. “Our tackling wasn’t quite good enough in the second half, but we still managed to level the game. Overall, we were really pleased with our performances against Nantes and Hertha,” commented head coach Christian Streich, who missed the two games due to a Covid-19 infection.

Antoine Kombouaré’s side, meanwhile, lost 3-0 to Stade Rennes at the weekend and are languishing in the relegation zone in Ligue 1. They remain under serious pressure in both the league and Europe. “We played well last week, found a lot of space and deserved to win,” said Streich.

However, nobody is expecting this game against the team third in the group to be a walk in the park. “We’re playing against a good side with lots of quality. We were fortunate to not concede from their good chances in the first game,” warned Mark Flekken.

Christian Streich and Florian Bruns will be back in the dugout after missing the last two games. “We were in regular contact and worked well together. I was at home and the other coaches were with the team,” explained Streich at the pre-match press conference. The boss won’t have Roland Sallai and Manuel Gulde available to him, nor Jonathan Schmid, who is suffering from a muscular issue. Assistant coach Patrick Beier has not made the trip to France either.

SC would qualify for the next round if they avoid defeat tomorrow night with two games to spare. Streich’s side are currently sat on nine points from three games and want to build on that superb record in France. “We all want to perform to our absolute best to seal our place in the next round,” said Mark Flekken. 1,500 away fans will be in France to cheer on their side from a packed away end.

Photo: Achim Keller