Freiburg – Dortmund

Dortmund club fail to win in league match before being sent to Catalonia

After the departure of Christian Streich, who led Freiburg for thirteen years, the team continued to perform at their level. At the same time, the current seventh place compared to the tenth place in the last Bundesliga campaign looks like a small step forward. Julian Schuster's team formally claim a place in the Champions League zone, where Mainz are three points away from Freiburg. However, objectively the team will not be able to compete with three rivals, whose personnel potential is no worse than Freiburg's. Borussia is no longer a serious contender for a place in the top 4. And it's not even because of the mathematical gap from the fourth position and the high competition for this place. Borussia plays very poorly in the championship, more often pleasing their fans in the Champions League. Last round's victory over Mainz could add confidence to the Bumblebees, but Borussia has won two consecutive games in the Bundesliga only once in the last almost six months. Bookmakers have identified the visitors as favourites for the upcoming meeting, offering odds of 2.25 on their victory. Freiburg after the January crisis in February gave away four wins in a row. It would seem that Schuster's wards have found their game, but they have not won a single time in March. Of course, the list of opponents in the form of Mainz, Leipzig and Augsburg in its current form is not easy to overcome, but three points from a draw with them is an extremely low indicator for a contender for something serious in the championship. In addition, Freiburg lost to Union Berlin at home last round, allowing the capital team to get the willful three points. Borussia is a good irritant to break the winless streak. Especially, Freiburg have actual problems with the Bumblebees in the form of six consecutive defeats since 2022. Borussia completely failed the season, experiencing huge problems in away confrontations. Last away match, the Bumblebees lost to Leipzig with a score of 0:2. Given that three full days after travelling to Freiburg, Niko Kovac's side will take to the Catalan pitch against Barcelona in the Champions League quarter-finals, they will not be fully focused on achieving three points in Saturday's encounter.