Match Preview: Dortmund Travel to the New Europa-Park Stadion in Freiburg

Get excited Borussen, because we're back again! Matchday two promises another engrossing encounter, hopefully, a little more enjoyable than the last one. Dortmund travels to face SC Freiburg on Friday with the “new look” squad seeking another three points. Unfortunately, the new look squad remains a bit old-looking with Karim Adeyemi and Niklas Sule stuck on the injury table. Still, fans can be hopeful to get a look at both Salih Özcan and Anthony Modeste in Die Schwarzgelben. Our Köln-based recruits will also be eager to hit the ground running in their first competitive appearances for Borussia Dortmund.

The opposition was nothing short of astounding last season, and our new center-back was a big part of that success. Freiburg pushed for a top four spot all season, with Nico Schlotterbeck, Vincenzo Grifo, and Christian Gunter keeping the Black Forest team in firing distance of the best in the league. This season Freiburg will be looking to keep their energy high despite the loss of a key player, and their heartbreaking defeat in the final of the DfB Pokal.

Line Up

With the absence of Karim Adeyemi, it will be interesting to see how Terzic opts to man the right side of the attack. Thorgan Hazard has been favored over Julian Brandt so far, so the Belgian could be deployed out wide. Terzic could also choose to switch formations and play both Modeste and Moukoko up top with Reus in behind. Given the coach’s known preference for a conventional 4-2-3-1, I expect Moukoko will get the chance to show his stuff out wide.

Player to Watch: Vincenzo Grifo

Last year when Dortmund faced Freiburg, also on Matchday 2, Grifo decided the second matchday was the right time to crank out his goal of the season. An immaculate free-kick caught Dortmund out, and the team was not able to recover for the remainder of the match. Grifo has the technical ability to turn a game on its head with a single touch of the ball and often lurks uninvolved until a chance to strike materializes out of nothing. With his wingman Christian Gunter, Grifo will hope to expose Thomas Meunier’s flank and create opportunities to score. The Belgian full-back will have to be at his best to keep the Italian winger quiet for 90 minutes.

Prediction

Let’s hope that history is not doomed to repeat itself. Zero points in the Black Forest for the second year in a row would be a bad look for the squad. Though it will not be easy, there should be enough quality in the squad to get through the Freiburg back line despite the signing of Bundesliga and Dortmund veteran Matias Ginter. 3-2 victory, but not without its challenges, and an opening goal from Anthony Modeste.

Hm, now Freiburg has Ginter and Gunter. I wonder if that will get confusing. Ginter, Gunter, Ginter, Gunter, Ginter.....