Bundesliga Match Preview: BVB Face Freiburg as Champions League Race Heats Up

Tomorrow, Borussia Dortmund will look to continue their strong start to the Rückrunde against SC Freiburg. This match will be a massive test for BVB. Freiburg are stronger than any of the other three clubs that BVB have played since the Bundesliga re-start, and with the race for the Champions League as tight as it is, every single point is going to be vital down the stretch.

As recently as November, Christian Streich’s Freiburg appeared to be the club in the best position to challenge Bayern Munich for the title. At the time, their expected goal figures seemed a little unsustainable, and sure enough, since then, they’ve come down to earth somewhat.RB Leipzig, Union Berlin, and BVB have leapfrogged Freiburg in the last few weeks, but their hopes aren’t crushed just yet. Freiburg still sit only three points behind Bayern and are right with the others in the fight for Champions League qualification.

Player to Watch: Matthias Ginter

As one of the strongest teams in the entire league, Freiburg have no shortage of quality players to rave about. I could probably have chosen one of Freiburg’s premier attacking talents like Michael Gregoritsch or Vincenzo Grifo (who may miss tomorrow’s game with an illness), but instead I chose to pick a familiar face. Matthias Ginter is a BVB alum who spent several years with Borussia Mönchengladbach. He was already a solid defender there, but since he moved to Freiburg he’s become the bedrock of Freiburg’s back line. He has played every second of every match of their season so far, one of only ten players in the entire league to do so. He might not be Freiburg’s most dangerous player, but he’s going to be a tough nut to crack for Dortmund’s forwards, so I’m very interested to see how he handles running their back line tomorrow.

Predicted Lineup

In a rare turn of events, the squad that Edin Terzic will have available to him tomorrow will be a remarkably healthy one. Outside of Thomas Meunier and Mateu Morey, every other player will be available. This means that, for once, Terzic will actually have some flexibility when he chooses his lineup.

One of BVB’s healthy returnees is Marco Reus. He featured briefly last Sunday against Leverkusen, and could play in a more significant capacity tomorrow. I have Reus in Julian Brandt’s usual role with the latter on the wing, but those could easily be reversed. Meanwhile, Salih Özcan picked up his fifth yellow card of the season against Leverkusen, so he will be suspended for tomorrow’s match. This means that we are officially on #DahoudWatch tomorrow. Will Mo finally get the chance to play, or will Edin Terzic run out Emre Can again?

Predicted Score

BVB are finally healthy, and as a result the squad seems to be really hitting its stride. I predict a 2-1 win tomorrow, with Sebastien Haller finally scoring a winner in front of the Yellow Wall.