Bundesliga basement battle on Friday night. SC Freiburg v Hamburger SV
As per usual in the Bundesliga, the action will be starting on Friday this weekend and there is an important game at the foot of the table as Freiburg welcome Hamburg to the Schwarzwald Stadion.
This is a vital match for both teams due to their lowly position in the Bundesliga table. The hosts start the game one place and 2 points adrift of Hamburg and know a win would lift them out of the relegation playoff place and see Hamburg drop down.
For the visitors, this is a game which could see them put distance between themselves and the bottom three teams, so there is all to play for on Friday night.
Freiburg come into this match with renewed confidence following their first win in four Bundesliga games last weekend as they defeated Mainz 2-1 at home. Having suffered three straight league defeats it was vital Freiburg took advantage of playing at home and they did just that.
Trends show Freiburg have won only two of their last fifteen Bundesliga games, which highlights just how important that victory over Mainz was on Saturday.
However, while picking up points on the road has been tough, Freiburg have proved difficult to beat when playing at the Schwarzwald Stadion. They have lost just one of their last thirteen home games in all competitions but 50% of their last ten matches at home have ended in a draw.
If Freiburg can turn those draws into wins, they would be move up the table and should be safe this season.
Hamburg start this match in 15th place and have won 13 points from their 13 games. While they have won twice as many Bundesliga games as Freiburg this season (four) they have been easier to beat, losing six in comparison to Freiburg’s four.
The Hamburg squad will be feeling a little better about themselves heading into this game having defeated Hoffenheim 3-0 at home last weekend. This was their second home win in succession having also defeated Stuttgart three weeks ago.
However, away from home trends show Hamburg have lost all their last five games and have won only one of their last thirteen away matches in all competitions.
Conceding goals in away Bundesliga games has been a problem and Hamburg have conceded at least 2 goals in each of their last five games and have not kept a clean sheet since March.
Team news and Freiburg have several players on the treatment table ahead of this game. Onur Bulut, Florian Niederlechner, Mike Frantz, Georg Niedermeier, Marc-Oliver Kempf and Alexandar Ignjovski could all miss the match.
Hamburg travel without Nicolai Muller, Bjarne Thoelke, Albin Ekdal and Wallace who are injured. Andre Hahn and Gotoku Sakai have an illness but may be fit of the game.
If there is one result we can rule out from this match it is an away win, as Hamburg have been so poor on the road. On the other hand, Freiburg have been tough to beat on home soil and it would be a surprise not to see them take at least a point from this match.
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