Soccer Germany Bundesliga Prediction

Freiburg vs Wolfsburg - Match Preview

⚽ 19 May 2023 - 18:30 GMT +0

Freiburg has had a tough time of it of late, crashing out of the DFB-Pokal in the semi-finals, before back-to-back Bundesliga defeats saw them lose valuable ground in the top-four race. Both those defeats coming against direct rivals for their UEFA Champions League (UCL) spots certainly haven’t helped their top-four quest and, despite Europa League football already being assured, Freiburg now faces a Wolfsburg side who are in desperate need of points themselves to keep their own European push alive.

Freiburg will hope a return home can reignite their UCL push, as in this calendar year they have lost only two home league games (W4, D3, L2), but ominously, both defeats came against top-six teams. Struggling against the higher-placed sides was a theme for Freiburg in those games, as only two points were picked up against top-half teams, with the other four wins and one draw coming against opponents currently ranked 13th or lower.

Wolfsburg started 2023 with a 6-0 win in the reverse fixture and, following a 2-1 victory against Hoffenheim last weekend, they come into this round in sixth. Their late-season surge of three wins from four (L1) means that European football for next season is within sight, but with Bayer Leverkusen behind them by virtue of goal difference alone, they can ill afford to rest on their laurels.

Recent history suggests there’ll be a winner either way here, as only one of Wolfsburg’s last ten away league games ended level (W6, L3), though after losing two of the last three and conceding nine, few know what to expect from the Wolves. Scoring the opener would certainly help Wolfsburg’s chances of the game swinging their way, as they haven’t left empty-handed in an away league game when doing so this term (W6, D1). But they’ll have to be careful, as when their opponents struck first, things didn't go so well (W1, D1, L6).

📋 Players to watch: Freiburg may look to Michael Gregoritsch to get them off to a good start, with six of his seven home Bundesliga goals this season arriving before the break. Scorer in the reverse fixture, Luca Waldschmidt netted decisively for Wolfsburg in their last outing and all four of his league goals this season have arrived beyond the 70th minute.

⚡ Hot stat: Freiburg has kept a first-half clean sheet in 13 of their 16 Bundesliga home games this season.