Bundesliga: Dortmund Tries to Find Their Footing

SC Freiburg vs Borussia Dortmund

Borussia Dortmund are looking to leapfrog over their front-running counterparts as they try to get three points against their next Bundesliga opponents SC Freiburg on Saturday.

As it stands now, last year’s second placers are placed at the eighth spot at the table with 11 points, while SC Freiburg are at third with 13 points.

After a strong start for the 2019/20 season, the Lucien Favre-mentored squad has experienced a topsy-turvy journey especially with uncharacteristic losses against FC Koln and Union Berlin. They managed to post a clean sheet against Bayer Leverkusen, but they only got one point each from Eintracht Frankfurt and against Werder.

On the other hand, SC Freiburg have been on a surprising run especially after they finished only 13^th last campaign. The Christian Streich-mentored club has been winning against some decent opponents and this upcoming match will be a huge test.

It will be BVB’s second straight match right at the Signal Iduna Park and they would like to use their advantage at home to finally make a run at the title before it’s too late.

Let SBOBET give you a primer on what to expect from both of these teams on Saturday.

Talking Points

Freiburg’s unlikely rise

SC Freiburg have always been known as an inconsistent club at best. Since their re-entry to top-flight status back in the 2016/17 season, Freiburg finished seventh, 15^th, and 13^th over the past few years.

Survival has always been the goal for the team since there’s not much to expect from them, especially with their relatively small financial capacity. However, it’s a pleasant surprise to see them doing so well early in this term.

Under the tutelage of Christian Streich, Freiburg have secretly formed one of the league’s budding nucleus in Jonathan Schmid, Luca Waldschmidt, Lucas Holer, and Nils Petersen. Their versatility to play at almost any position in the 3-4-1-2 combination of the coaching staff has made them unpredictable of sorts.

If you’re Borussia Dortmund in this upcoming fixture, I would set my eyes on stopping Nils Petersen and Lucas Waldschmidt.

Nils Petersen , the man to watch out for when SC Freiburg play Borussia Dortmund in Bundesliga — SC Freiburg’s Nils Petersen celebrates scoring their second goal

Petersen is the team’s super-sub and he took full advantage of his new role especially when Florian Niederlechner was riddled with injuries last term and eventually left to go to Augsburg.

As for Waldschmidt, the 23-year-old has been nothing short of spectacular ever since he arrived in the Bundesliga four years ago. So far, the German wunderkind has 12 goals in his last 13 games for Freiburg and for the national team.

Other than their promising quality at the front, their backline could hold on their own too. So far in this campaign, they’ve just conceded only five goals in after six match days which is a new record for them.

Christian Streich’s squad have had it a bit easy which may explain their auspicious start, and facing a contender like BVB will help them gauge how far have they come already as a team.

Dortmund still searching for their form

Dortmund’s Bundesliga 2019 odds of winning the championship have taken a hit after dropping points against Eintracht Frankfurt and Werder Bremen recently, and they are still finding a way to ward off complacency to avoid last season’s similar pattern.

Lucien Favre’s side is still dangerous on their attack even with Paco Alcacer out due to an Achilles injury as Jadon Sancho, Marco Reus, Mario Gotze and Thorgan Hazard will be tasked to pick up the pieces.

Perhaps BVB might consider putting Julian Brandt at the attacking midfield position alongside Sancho and Mario Gotze out front as their main striker to somehow put in another wrinkle to their attack. Mats Hummels will continue to captain the defence and his leadership will be invaluable for the likes of Manuel Akanji, Achraf Hakimi, and Raphael Guerreiro.

Pundits may forget how dangerous BVB are once they find their stride, and this is the perfect chance for them to make a statement with a victory against SC Freiburg.

History

The head-to-head between Dortmund and Freiburg has been a one-sided affair as the former was undefeated in 16 Bundesliga matches against the latter. A 17^th straight win will set a new club record against a single opponent.

Marco Reus has been involved in at least one goal in each of his last seven matches against Freiburg (five goals and seven assists).

Betting Tip

	SC Freiburg vs Borussia Dortmund	Borussia Dortmund Asian Handicap -0.75 @1.69
	October 05, 21:30 (GMT+8)

Dortmund are rightfully placed at 1.57 odds while Freiburg are at 5.00. Odds for a draw are unlikely at 4.20.

The Lucien Favre-mentored team has dominated their matchup against Freiburg and perhaps this might be the turnaround that they’re looking for in this campaign. They just need to keep it together and continuously step on to the gas pedal.

As for Freiburg, there’s no shame if they’ll lose in this one. However, I expect them to give BVB a run for their money at least, just like how they played in their previous games.