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SC Freiburg hosts Bayer Leverkusen at the Schwarzwald-Stadion in the first match of Round 29 of the German Bundesliga.
Freiburg continued with its inconsistent year as they settled for a 3-3 draw with Eintracht Frankfurt in their last assignment. Meanwhile, Bayer Leverkusen fell to fifth place after suffering a surprise 1-4 defeat at the hands of Wolfsburg.
The Top 4 chasing Leverkusen hopes to get back on track on Friday night as they hit the road against a Freiburg team that is middling in the Bundesliga table.
SC Freiburg
- Freiburg possible starting lineup: Schwolow; Schmid, Koch, Gulde, Gunter; Sallai, Abrashi, Hofler, Grifo; Waldschmidt, Holer
Against Eintracht Frankfurt on the road last Tuesday, Freiburg found themselves in one of the most exciting games since the Bundesliga returned from the coronavirus break. After a 1-1 tie at the half, Freiburg scored two goals that gave the visitors a 3-1 lead in the 69th minute. However, the home team scored a pair of goals during a three-minute span to tie the match at 3-3 in the 82nd minute.
The draw saw Freiburg give away two points which were almost already theirs. They are now winless in their last six matches. They are currently 8th in the Bundesliga table with a total of 38 points from 28 games. Freiburg has a total of 10 wins, 8 draws, and 8 losses during this term. They have scored a total of 38 goals while conceding 40 this season.
The Breisgau-Brasilianer only had 37% of possession time against Frankfurt and were 74% accurate on their passes. They only had five shots on goal and had two corner kicks awarded. Goal keeper Schwolow had his work cut out for him as he had a total of 13 saves in the match. Grifo, Petersen, and Holer scored the three goals for the team.
Nils Petersen leads Freiburg with a total of nine goals this season. Fellow forwards Lucas Holer and Luca Waldschmidt each have scored five goals for the squad. On the other hand, defender Christian Gunter has six assists to lead Freiburg while Vincenzo Grifo has five assists and three goals this season.
Bayer Leverkusen
- Leverkusen possible starting lineup: Hradecky; Tapsoba, Bender, Dragovic; Weiser, Aranguiz, Demirbay, Sinkgraven; Bellarabi, Havertz, Diaby
Bayer Leverkusen had a big chance to shore up their Champions League spot but after a disappointing 1-4 loss to Wolfsburg, they now find themselves back in the Europa League. Wolfsburg scored a goal in the first half and added three more in the second half before Leverkusen finally got on board.
Leverkusen controlled 70% of possession time against Wolfsburg. They also were awarded a total of 12 corner kicks and made 85% of the correct passes. However, Bayer Leverkusen only had one shot on goal in the match whereas Wolfsburg had nine and converted four.
With the loss, Bayer Leverkusen has been forced to a tie with Borussia Monchengladbach with 53 points. Both squads have a total of 16 wins, 5 draws, and seven losses on the season. However, Borussia Monchengladbach has a better goal difference between the two clubs at +19 which puts Leverkusen in 5th place.
Kai Havertz leads the team with a total of nine goals this season. Forwards Kevin Volland and Lucas Alario have also added nine and six goals, respectively. Volland is also the top assists man for Bayer Leverkusen with seven on the year while Karim Bellarabi has six assists and four goals.
Who Wins?
Leverkusen forward Kevin Volland returned to training earlier in the week but this match may be too early for him to get back into action. Jonathan Tah has been bothered by back problems and he sat out the loss to Wolfsburg. Likewise, skipper Lars Bender remains out of commission with a foot injury.
Gian Luca Waldschmidt played against Frankfurt but was replaced after the opening hour. Wladschmidt missed the previous match against Werder Bremen. Christian Gunter has been playing hurt while Janik Haberer missed the game against Frankfurt. Their status for this match is not certain as of the moment but a quick turnaround may not be of their best interest.
Freiburg has not lost to Leverkusen in their last five home matches. However, Leverkusen has not been beaten in their last six away matches. Despite their ugly loss to Wolfsburg the last time out, Leverkusen has still won 12 out of their last 14 matches and that is no fluke. These teams have met 20 times since 2009 and Leverkusen has a comfortable 10-7-3 edge.
Freiburg isn’t in danger of being relegated but a Europa trip is also out of the picture. Leverkusen is still in the thick of the race for the Top 4 and they have more to play for in this match.
Prediction: Bayer Leverkusen (-133)
Alternate Bet
Bayer Leverkusen has conceded just one goal in their last five head to head matches against SC Freiburg. Moreover, Streich’s men have failed to score in seven out of their last 10 head to head matches at this ground as well. However, the average goals scored between these teams in their head to head meetings since 2017 has been 1.83.
Prediction: Under 3 goals (-111)
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