5,000 SCF supporters will travel to the state capital of Stuttgart to watch Freiburg kick off the second half of the season at the MHPArena. Philipp Lienhart could return after recovering from illness, though the match will come too early for Manuel Gulde. Kiliann Sildillia is a doubt after rolling his ankle in training.

On Friday, Julian Schuster didn’t confirm whether or not Lienhart will come straight back into the heart of defence. Along with other players, the SC head coach praised Max Rosenfelder for his performance in Frankfurt during the week. “I was very pleased with Max’s individual performance. He finished the match with one or two scratches and bruises and was completely exhausted at full time, like he should be. Obviously, starting with all three in the team could also be an option.”

Another player discussed at the Europa-Park Stadion was Patrick Osterhage, who did not feature in the 4-1 loss to Frankfurt. Merlin Röhl started alongside Maximilian Eggestein in the centre of midfield. “We chose a more attacking selection on that occasion, but Patrick had an excellent first half of the season,” said Schuster. “He’s definitely an option to start tomorrow.”

Courage and resilience needed

During the defeat in Frankfurt, SCF struggled to get out over long periods when the opponents had the ball. Schuster believes that mental strength will be needed for this to improve against VfB. “When you play against an opponent with this much quality, you have to be resilient,” said Schuster. “It’s important to strike a balance between dealing mentally with being under pressure and then being brave and confident when you have the ball.”

According to Schuster, when Freiburg have the ball they need to “get into the right positions. You need a good work rate and stamina to win the ball back and defend everything which comes your way. A lot of that is psychological during periods of pressure.”

The emotional aspect of this particular match-up should not be underestimated. “It’s important that the fans use this energy to make it as difficult for the opponent as possible,” emphasised Schuster. “We have enough players from Baden to know what this game means to us as a team and as a club, as well as to the fans.” At the press conference, the SC head coach also revealed that he will hand over some of his team talk to the captain. “Tomorrow, I think I can sit back and leave it to Günni to get the team fired up.”

Photo: SC Freiburg