Freiburg vs Bayern Munich

Bundesliga pacesetters Bayern Munich travel to the Europa-Park Stadion to lock horns with top-four hopefuls Freiburg.

Fresh from a stunning 2-1 win at the Allianz Arena in midweek DFB-Pokal action, Freiburg will be looking to add insult to injury and extend their seven-game unbeaten Bundesliga run (W3, D4) at Bayern’s expense. Football skeptics could argue that Freiburg’s recent run is not as remarkable as it appears since they have managed to draw four out of their last five league matches. Their argument may hold some weight as Christian Streich’s men were in the lead in three of those four stalemates. Though another share of the spoils could see them drop out of the Bundesliga top four if results elsewhere don’t go their way, ‘Breisgau-Brasilianer’ would likely settle for a point. But a near-flawless record across six top-flight home games in 2023 (W3, D3) suggests they could gun for another upset.

Meanwhile, amends for a frustrating DFB-Pokal exit will motivate Thomas Tuchel to pick up where he left off last weekend when his Bayern Munich side thrashed fierce rivals Borussia Dortmund 4-2 on his touchline debut. Despite clocking four victories in their last five league matches (L1), the ‘Bavarians’ cannot rest on their laurels, as they start this round only two points clear of second-placed Dortmund. Tuchel’s next assignment is to navigate Bayern’s way out of an away crisis that’s seen them muster just two wins in their last five league games on hostile turf (D1, L2). Europa-Park Stadion could be a perfect place to start, given that the record-time Bundesliga champions have gone unbeaten in seven straight league visits to Freiburg (W5, D2) since a 2-1 loss in 2015, including a thumping 4-1 win in this corresponding fixture last season.