SC freiburg-Kaiserslautern Preview Match: German Bundesliga 2011/2012

March 24, 2012 2:30 PM GMT
MAGE SOLAR Stadion — Freiburg im Breisgau

Team News

Freiburg

Manager Streich could field a 4-4-1-1 again, with Jan Rosenthal starting behind Sebastian Freis, although he has several other options up front. Plenty of defensive injuries will force Freiburg to field an inexperienced back line once again.

probable lineups :  Baumann, Sorg, Ginter, Fallou, Mujdza, Caligiuri, Makiadi, Schuster, Schmid, Rosenthal, Freis. (4-4-1-1).

17 Mar 2012       Hamburger SV 1 - SC Freiburg 3 

10 Mar 2012       B. Mönchengladbach 0 - SC Freiburg 0 

3 Mar 2012         SC Freiburg 2 - FC Schalke 04 1 

25 Feb 2012       VfB Stuttgart 4 - SC Freiburg 1 

18 Feb 2012       SC Freiburg 0 - FC Bayern München 0

Kaiserslautern

Krassimir Balakov will make his debut as Kaiserslautern manager. Tobias Sippel could replace Kevin Trapp in goal. Jan Simunek is injured, meaning Rodnei and Mathias Abel could start at centre-back again. Ariel Borysiuk and Christian Tiffert could start in defensive midfield, allowing Oliver Kirch to start on the right wing. With Dorge Kouemaha and Sandro Wagner injured, Andrew Wooten could get his chance to start up front.

probable lineups : Sippel, Dick, Abel, Rodnei, Jessen, Borysiuk, Tiffert, Kirch, Shechter, Fortounis, Wooten. (4-2-3-1).

 

18 Mar 2012        Kaiserslautern 1 - FC Schalke 04 4 

9 Mar 2012          VfB Stuttgart 0 - Kaiserslautern 0 

3 Mar 2012          Kaiserslautern 0 - VfL Wolfsburg 0 

25 Feb 2012        FSV Mainz 05 4 - Kaiserslautern 0 

18 Feb 2012        Kaiserslautern 1 - B. Mönchengladbach 2 

 

Head to Head

22 Oct 2011      Kaiserslautern 1 - SC Freiburg 0

12 Mar 2011    Kaiserslautern 2 - SC Freiburg 1

23 Oct 2010      SC Freiburg 2 - Kaiserslautern 1

24 May 2009    SC Freiburg 4 - Kaiserslautern 3

15 Dec 2008     Kaiserslautern 2 - SC Freiburg 0   

 

Prediction 

After three games without a loss, including wins against Schalke and Hamburg, Freiburg are on their way to climbing out of the relegation zone. They need a result against their rivals Kaiserslautern now to continue their run.

Kaiserslautern sacked Marco Kurz after 16 games without a win. New manager Krassimir Balakov has a difficult task ahead of him, with Kaiserslautern currently bottom of the table.

Expect Freiburg to try to control the game from the outset. It remains to be seen how quickly Balakov will be able to change things at Kaiserslautern, but the motivational effect of a managerial change is never to be underestimated.

Freiburg  2 - 1  Kaiserslautern