The last game of the year is going to be one of the most difficult ones for SC Freiburg. Last season’s Bundesliga winners Bayer Leverkusen, who host Freiburg on matchday 15, are in great form after a slow start to the season and have won each of their last seven games in all competitions. “The football that the play has shaped the whole of Germany,” said Julian Schuster.

Freiburg’s last trip to Leverkusen ended 2-1 to the hosts, though SC put in a solid performance and were only beaten by a stunning solo goal from Florian Wirtz, which was later named as the ARD Sportschau ‘Goal of the Year’. Keeping the Germany international quiet is going to be one of the biggest challenges for Freiburg’s defenders on Saturday, according to Schuster. “Obviously one of our jobs is to stop him from impacting the game – he’s so important to Leverkusen.”

Lessons learned from the games in Munich and Leipzig

SC have already travelled to play several top sides in the first half of the 2024/25 season. “Looking back at the Bayern and Leipzig games, there were definitely some things on show that you need to get a result against such a good side,” said Schuster, who feels the ability to deal with periods without the ball will be key, as well having courage once Freiburg have possession. “The difficulty is that your courage and bravery can sometimes disappear if you’ve just faced long periods of pressure by the opponents.”

SC will go into this weekend’s match full of confidence. Schuster’s team have claimed seven points from their last three Bundesliga games and a draw in Leverkusen would see Freiburg already match their points tally from the first half of last season – with two more games to go (against Holstein Kiel and Eintracht Frankfurt) in the new year before the midway mark of 2024/25. 2,700 SC fans have purchased a ticket for the away end, which is not yet sold out.

Adamu back after suspension

Striker Junior Adamu is available again after serving his suspension for a red card in Dortmund. “It’s nice to have him back,” commented Schuster. “At the same time though, we’re happy with how Luci, Gregerl, Merlin and Eren have played. We’re pleased to have this strength in depth.” Merlin Röhl and Eren Dinkci are both an option for the starting XI after recovering from injury and coming off the bench in recent weeks.

Defender Lukas Kübler scored twice in the 3-2 win over VfL Wolfsburg last time out, just as he did on the opening matchday against VfB Stuttgart. Matthias Ginter, Philipp Lienhart and Christian Günter have all also scored a goal apiece this season, giving SC the most prolific defence in the whole league in 2024/25.

Photo: Achim Keller