Hoffenheim welcome Andrej Kramaric to his trip to Borussia Mönchengladbach in Freiburg as fourth to fifth in the Bundesliga (kick off 3:30 p.m. CET).
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Freiburg scored all of their goals in the first half with a sensational 6-0 success at Gladbach last Sunday, a result that left them rather in fourth place. After seeing six different goal scorers end his side’s three-game losing streak, it shouldn’t be long before Christian Streich assesses his options for this week. Center-back Philipp Lienhart is still tied with Lucas Höler as Freiburg’s top scorer after the pair secured their fourth of the season against the Foals, while another center-back – Nico Schlotterbeck – has also entered in play with the last goal of the match. With attacking midfielder Vincenzo Grifo and German left-back Christian Günter continuing to provide excellent service, an unchanged Freiburg XI will be brimming with confidence.
Hoffenheim have now scored 11 times in their last three games, climbing to fifth place after a 3-2 home win over Eintracht Frankfurt last time around. Florian Grillitsch missed this match due to a cold and is also missing from it, meaning a place in the starting lineup for US defender Chris Richards. Dennis Geiger was unable to get rid of the muscle problem that forced him to abandon the game against Eintracht at the start of the second half. Andrej Kramaric, meanwhile, billed as a late substitute in this game, is back 100% in shape following his recent injury issues. A talismanic figure for the Sinsheim club in recent seasons, Kramaric return Georginio Rutter has fallen on the bench.
Look: Freiburg hit Gladbach for six on Matchday 14
Match statistics
- Freiburg have scored more goals from set pieces (13) than any other Bundesliga team this season.
- Günter is online to take part in his 250th Bundesliga match. He’s been in the starting lineup for each of the last 93 matchdays, the longest current record of any player in the league.
- Streich has recorded 99 Bundesliga victories as a coach, so he could benefit from a striking result on Saturday.
- Hoffenheim striker Kramaric could enjoy a few defining moments: The Croatian has scored 99 goals in 199 competitive appearances for the club.
- Sinsheim’s side have won three consecutive Bundesliga matches for the first time under Hoeneß.
- Alongside Bayern Munich, Hoffenheim have touched the wood more often than any other team this season (eight times).
CONFIRMED Compositions
Freiburg: Flekken – Kübler, Lienhart, N. Schlotterbeck, Günter – Schade, Eggestein, Höfler, Grifo – Höler, Demirovic
Subscribers: Atubolu, Gulde, Petersen, Haberer, Sallai, Sildillia, Jeong, K. Schlotterbeck, Weißhaupt
Outside: Keitel (muscular), Schmid (fitness match)
Coach: Christian streich
Hoffenheim: Baumann (c) – Posch, Vogt, Richards – Akpoguma, Samassekou, Stiller, Raum – Bebou, Dabbur, Kramaric
Subscribers: Pentke, Kaderabek, Nordtveit, Baumgartner, Rudy, Gacinovic, Hübner, Adamyan, Rutter
Outside: Bicakcic (knee), Bruun Larsen (muscular), Geiger (thigh), Grillitsch (cold), John (sick), Skov (thigh)
Coach: Sebastian hoeneß
