Bundesliga: Neither Freiburg and Frankfurt Will Give Up Ground in Bruhl

SC Freiburg vs Eintracht Frankfurt

It’s a three-way race for the second spot in the Bundesliga following a busy matchday 16.

Eintracht Frankfurt and Union Berlin have tacked on three points each after taking care of business last weekend. Meanwhile, SC Freiburg suffered one of their worst losses ever in their team’s history.

Following these Bundesliga 2023 results, these three teams now have 30 points each, with Eintracht Frankfurt in second, Union Berlin in third, and SC Freiburg in fourth due to goal difference.

This Wednesday, SC Freiburg are going to host Eintracht Frankfurt at the Europa-Park Stadion, hoping to get back on the winning track and maybe claim solo second place.

Without further ado, continue to read on below as SBOTOP gives a preview of this exciting midweek contest.

Talking Points

SC Freiburg need to respond

SC Freiburg slipped from second to fourth after losing 6-0 to VfL Wolfsburg in their last outing. It was their largest loss in 11 years with Christian Streich as their manager.

The Black Forest gave up a goal to Patrick Wimmer 60 seconds after the opening whistle. They did have a chance to equalise, but Ritsu Doan’s shot drifted over the edge of the box, and things got worse from there. 

Any hopes for a SC Freiburg comeback were soon dashed when Jonas Wind tallied a brace before the end of the first half. And then Yannick Gerhardt, Ridle Baku, and Luca Waldschmidt all scored one apiece in the second half to complete the rout.

The absence of Vincenzo Grifo was glaring for SC Freiburg since he’s their top scorer so far this season with 11 goals and three assists. The Italian winger was sidelined due to a non-COVID illness, and Streich is hoping to have him back in the lineup as soon as possible.

Roland Sallai is still out due to a muscular injury, so Michael Gregoritsch and Ritsu Doan will be on the wings once again for the Black Forest. Gregoritsch and Doan have accounted for 12 goals and six assists this term.

Eintracht Frankfurt solid on the road

Eintracht Frankfurt are in second place for the first time since matchday 8 of the 2012-13 season. This year, they are the second best road team (behind Bayern Munich), with 14 points from a possible 21.

They are fresh from a comfortable win against Schalke, as Jesper Lindstrom, Rafael Santos Borre, and Aurelio Buta all found the back of the net.

Although he didn’t get on the scoresheet, Randal Kolo Muani remains impactful for Eintracht Frankfurt. The Les Bleus star registered his 10th assist of the campaign when he dished it to Jesper Lindstrom for their opening goal, which paved the way to their eventual 3-0 victory.

And let’s not forget about Daichi Kamada, who is their top scorer with 10 goals and three assists. The 24-year-old forward is fast and opportunistic, especially in transition, as he showed in the World Cup while playing for Japan, so he’ll give SC Freiburg’s defence plenty to think about.

History

Eintracht Frankfurt have 15 top-flight wins (from 36 matches) against SC Freiburg since the latter’s first promotion to the Bundesliga in 1993 (D7, L14), which is second only to 16 against Bayer Leverkusen during that time period.

Die Adler have won two of their last four Bundesliga away matches against the Black Forest (D1, L1), which is as many wins as they had in their previous 13 visits there (D4, L7). The Black Forest have only won one of their last five top-flight matches against Die Adler (D2, L2) – a 1-0 result in November 2019.

Oliver Glasner’s men are in better form recently than Christian Streich’s, as they have taken 10 of a possible 12 points from their last four Bundesliga matches. 30 points from their first 16 games is their best return at this juncture since 1993-94.

Betting Tip

The Bundesliga 2023 odds predict a tight affair between these two top-four hopefuls on Wednesday. SC Freiburg were given the slight edge to win at 2.54, while Eintracht Frankfurt are priced at 2.68 in the 1X2 market.

It’s important to note that SC Freiburg and Eintracht Frankfurt split their league meetings last season. And given the fact that neither side will want to lose ground on each other in the table, we feel that going for a draw at 3.40 is the likeliest outcome.

This won’t be a barnburner, but there should be goals from both sides, making Total Goal 2-3 @ 1.96 and Under 2.75 @ 2.01 your plausible alternative bets.

 

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