Borussia Dortmund vs SC Freiburg
The resuscitated Dortmund will play host to a determined Freiburg at Signal Iduna Park for a pivotal Bundesliga bout.
Dortmund are without their recently acquired loanee, Jadon Sancho, who is out indefinitely due to an adductor injury. But the resurgence of Niclas Füllkrug could be more than enough to fill the void that Sancho left.
Füllkrug has emerged as one of the hottest commodities in the German top flight in recent weeks, and he will have an opportunity to pounce on his recent success against a head-scratching Freiburg outfit.
Christian Streich, on the other hand, is keen on keeping their European qualifications alive. His side had multiple opportunities to join the upper echelon of the Bundesliga table but have fallen short each time. They hope to turn things around against Dortmund.
Talking Points
Niclas Füllkrug spearheads the charge
BVB have been able to fend off a convincing charge by Leipzig and keep their Champions League dreams for next year alive by staying unbeaten in their last five Bundesliga matches.
Also, a win in their upcoming bout against Freiburg could tie them with Stuttgart in third place in the standings with 40 points.
The main catalyst for Dortmund’s resurgence is the potent goal-scoring abilities of their forward, Germany’s No. 9, Niclas Füllkrug.
After a tepid start to the season, Füllkrug recently started ramping it up and blasted his way up the leaderboards with strong Bundesliga 2024 results.
The 30-year-old came up big for Dortmund during their clash with Bochum two weeks ago, where he single handedly carried his side to a 3-1 victory by scoring his first Black and Yellow hat-trick.
Füllkrug’s hot streak didn’t start there, though, as he netted a penalty against their 4-0 thrashing of Köln. His grace under pressure when delivering his spot-kicks is simply world-class. The German striker is nearly perfect with his penalty attempts in the German top flight, successfully converting 14 out of 15 penalties in the Bundesliga.
In just two matches, Füllkrug skyrocketed in the Bundesliga Golden Boot race, almost doubling his production for the whole season. He is now tied with Jonas Wind and Marvin Ducksch with nine goals this season, who are all just one goal away from overtaking Leverkusen’s Boniface in the sixth spot.
Füllkrug’s resurgence came at the most opportune time for Dortmund, as they’ll have to brave time without their prodigal son, Jadon Sancho, after he suffered a problem with his adductor muscle.
Can SC Freiburg clinch European competition?
Freiburg had two opportunities to reach European football qualifications, and two times they failed. Sitting just three points outside of the sixth spot in the league table, Christian Streich and his men can’t seem to get over the hump and overtake Frankfurt in the standings.
They had the opportunity to put themselves in a convincing position to put themselves in a position to qualify for the Europa Conference League qualifiers next year with a win against Werder, but unfortunately, they lost to Werder 3-1, but they had a chance for redemption when they faced Stuttgart, but again they fell 3-1.
Maybe a third time’s the charm for Freiburg? But they picked the wrong time to get back to their winning ways, as they’ll go up against a surging Dortmund at Signal Iduna Park.
Their winger, Vincenzo Grifo, has been shouldering the offencive responsibilities, but it just hasn’t been enough to garner Freiburg consistent winning results. Grifo has tallied just five Bundesliga goals in the season thus far, and it’s a glaring hole Christian Streich has to address if he plans to get over the hump.
Freiburg as a whole have only managed to score 26 goals this season, which is the lowest goal tally among the top 10 clubs in the German league thus far, and conceding 34 goals doesn’t help their cause as well.
History
It’s fair to say that these clubs are very well acquainted, having fought a total of 32 bouts in the last decade. Among those matches, BVB have won the majority with 23 wins, while Freiburg have only managed to win four times but were able to tally a draw five times.
Dortmund won four of their last five contests against Freiburg, but they weren’t a walk in the park whatsoever. Freiburg, despite falling, have been able to score at least one goal against Dortmund in their last six matches, which is something to consider when looking at the betting lines for this match.
In terms of goal scoring, these clubs have managed to rack up a total of 109 goals in their last 32 matches, where BVB scored 82 times and Freiburg scored a respectable amount with 27.
Their most recent match was also their clash with the highest aggregate, boasting a score line of 2-4. Freiburg were leading 2-1 entering halftime, but Malen, Hummels, and Reus turned the boosters on in the second half with one goal apiece.
Betting Tip
Historically, these clubs turn up the heat offencively whenever they face each other, scoring a total of 25 goals in their last five matches, which is why my betting tip is Total Goals Over 3.00 at 1.82. Where the price is right now holds enough value, in my opinion, to garner attention and excitement for punters to consider.
As for their main lines, the SBOTOP Bundesliga 2024 betting odds unsurprisingly have Dortmund as the favourites at 1.47, which holds enough value for some punters to bet on, while the visiting Freiburg are the underdogs at 5.20 with a draw price of 4.27.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR (⭐) BETS ARE WORTH:
⭐⭐⭐= €20 (HIGHLY CONFIDENT)
⭐⭐= €10 (CONFIDENT))
⭐= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT)
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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