Freiburg vs Stuttgart Preview & Prediction | 2024-25 German Bundesliga
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The post-Christian Streich era begins now for Freiburg, who take on a Stuttgart side who have gone from surviving the relegation play-off, to qualifying for the Champions League, all in the space of just one year.
KICK-OFF DATE/TIME: Saturday August 24th 2024: UK – 2:30pm / US ET – 9:30am / US PT – 6:30am
HOW TO WATCH ON TV: UK – Sky Sports / US – Some matches will be televised on ESPN channels so it is worth checking their schedules
HOW TO WATCH ONLINE: UK – Cannot be streamed / US – ESPN+
FREIBURG PREVIEW: HOW WILL THEY ADAPT TO STEPPING INTO THE UNKNOWN
You have to go all the way back to 2011-12 for the last season that Freiburg began without Christian Streich as their head coach (he was the assistant to Marcus Sorg). After being promoted in December of that year, Streich has been in charge ever since. Until the end of this past season when the 59-year-old left his role after over 12 years.
Former player Julian Schuster has the unenviable job of succeeding Streich, but his service on the pitch for Freiburg should at least see him given plenty of time by the fans to get things right and succeed. The question for Freiburg though is what would they see as success this year. When considering the squad at Schuster’s disposal, European football has to be the target.
STUTTGART PREVIEW: AS CHAMPIONS LEAGUE LOOMS, CAN STUTTGART KEEP EYES ON THE BALL
The excitement of Champions League football has dominated Stuttgart has dominated the summer after a historic campaign which saw them finish runners-up in the Bundesliga, above the likes of Bayern Munich, RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund. It represents an incredible turnaround from a club who looked like getting relegated in 2022-23 before the arrival of Sebastian Hoeness.
Hoeness orchestrated a revival and helped Stuttgart survive relegation after they won their two-legged play-off vs Hamburg. The following season was barely believable as Hoeness’ ultra-attacking style of play led Stuttgart to second-place in the Bundesliga.
FREIBURG TEAM NEWS: NUMBER OF DOUBTS FOR FREIBURG, WHO COULD OPT TO MATCH OPPONENTS
It would be no surprise if Julian Schuster looks to try and take on Stuttgart man-for-man, by setting his side up in a similar formation. Centre-back Matthias Ginter is out injured, as is Daniel-Kofi Kyereh. Meanwhile, Dinkci, Gulde, Rohl and Sildillia are all doubts.
PREDICTED XI (4-4-2): Muller; Kubler, Rosenfelder, Lienhart, Gunter; Doan, Eggestein, Osterhage, Grifo; Holer, Adamu
UNAVAILABLE: Ginter (Injured), Kyereh (Injured)
QUESTIONABLE: Atubolu (Illness), Dinkci (Injured), Gulde (Injured), Rohl (Injured), Sildillia (Injured)
STUTTGART TEAM NEWS: GUIRASSY GONE BUT UNDAV RETURNS TO LEAD LINE
The biggest question from a Stuttgart perspective is who will replace Serhou Guirassy and the goals he provided. But signing Deniz Undav on a permanent deal makes up for his loss with Demirovic likely to start alongside him in a front two.
PREDICTED XI (4-4-2): Nubel; Stenzel, Keitel, Chabot, Mittelstadt; Millot, Karazor, Stiller, Fuhrich; Undav, Demirovic
UNAVAILABLE: Nartey (Injured), Raimund (Injured), Vagnoman (Injured), Zagadou (Injured)
QUESTIONABLE: Rouault (Injured), Stergiou (Injured)
FREIBURG VS STUTTGART PREDICTION
It’s difficult to know what to expect from a Freiburg team not led by Christian Streich, but you’d expect them to operate in a highly-attacking manner on their own turf. Stuttgart certainly won’t change the way they play even having lost the likes of Guirassy up top and Anton at the back and another significantly offensive play-style is expected here from the visitors.
Without Ginter, the Freiburg backline could well struggle to repel Stuttgart going forward, but at the same time, Stuttgart should leave space for the home side to exploit across the 90 minutes. Regardless of the final outcome, it’s well worth backing both teams to score.
FREIBURG VS STUTTGART TIP: BOTH TEAMS TO SCORE
