Our last meeting with Frank Kramer’s side in eastern Westfalia was not one for SCF fans to remember fondly; we suffered a 1-0 defeat, with an unlucky own goal from Baptiste Santamaria in the 58th minute being the difference.

Now, just four short months later, the teams face off again to begin their seasons.The two sides have come into this season very differently: Arminia have had a huge upheaval in their squad, with 14 departures and 10 arrivals. In contrast, thecore of Freiburg’s squad has stayed together.

Both teams made a winning return to competitive football in the first round of theDFB-Pokal. We came through with a deserved 1-0 win away to Würzburger Kickers, whereas Bielefeld beat SpVgg Bayreuth 6-3 in a crazy game.

Christian Streich believes his squad is in a good place before the start of the league season. He said: “I was satisfied with our game in Würzburg – we covered a lot of ground and our positioning was good. That said, Arminia will offer a different challenge to Würzburg, so our message is clear: absolute focus on Bielefeld.” In particular, Freiburg will need to be able to count on making the correct decisions against a variable opponent.

Around 500 SC fans were able to get tickets and travel for the cup game in Würzburg, but unfortunately the team will have to do without their support from the stands in eastern Westfalia, as away fans will not be permitted to attend.

Nishan Burkart and Nils Petersen are both recovering and regaining fitness after their injuries, so they will be unavailable for the fixture. Lukas Kübler (out with a knock recently), on the other hand, is available for selection.

Photo: Achim Keller