Sunday at the Europa-Park Stadium will be a reunion with many memories. Freiburg welcomes Hoffenheim for the Baden-Württemberg derby, and recent history speaks for itself: In the last five meetings, the Breisgauers have emerged victorious four times. It will be interesting to see how both teams perform after different weeks. Freiburg comes with momentum from the Europa League, where Osterhage and Eggestein proved their scoring prowess in the 2-1 win over Basel. Julian Schuster’s team has managed three competitive wins in a row after a bumpy start to the season with two league defeats. Hoffenheim, on the other hand, is still reeling from its 4-1 home defeat to Bayern. Two penalties from Kane, plus the controversial awarding of the first penalty after Hajdari’s handball, have put TSG under considerable pressure. Christian Ilzer’s team is still waiting for consistency in this early stage of the season. The momentum seems to be clearly with the home side, especially as Noah Atubolu is making headlines with five Bundesliga penalties saved in a row. The bookmakers see Freiburg as slight favorites, which seems understandable.
- Venue: Europa-Park Stadium, Freiburg
- Date and time: 09/28/2025, 3:30 p.m.
- Competition: Bundesliga (Matchday 5)
Freiburg Form & Record Check
After a disastrous start to the season, SC Freiburg’s form is showing a clear upward trend. While the first two Bundesliga games against Augsburg (1-3) and Cologne (1-4) were devastating setbacks, the tide turned with a convincing 3-1 home win against Stuttgart. Particularly impressive was the 3:0 away win at Werder Bremen, where the Breisgauers demonstrated their efficiency. Grifo confidently converted a controversial handball penalty, Adamu took advantage of his first start with a goal, and keeper Atubolu continued his sensational penalty streak. The goalkeeper has now saved five penalties in a row, a new Bundesliga record. The Europa League opener against Basel (2-1) confirmed the positive development. Osterhage and Eggestein, the defensive midfield duo, both scored together for the first time in a game. Interestingly, it was a late lapse in concentration that helped Basel score their consolation goal. With three competitive wins in a row, the Baden-based club has climbed to 7th place in the table, level on points with several rivals. The statistics point to an offensive revival: all of the last five games have had over 2.5 goals, with Freiburg always scoring but also conceding goals in most cases.
Julian Schuster is expected to stick with his tried-and-tested 4-2-3-1 formation. However, the personnel situation has worsened significantly: Philipp Lienhart is still out due to illness, as are Lucas Höler and Cyriaque Irié. In addition, Daniel-Kofi Kyereh is unavailable for fitness reasons. The duo of Ginter and Jung are therefore likely to play in central defense again, as this solution has proven successful recently. Up front, Junior Adamu could get another chance to start after scoring his first goal of the season against Bremen. The double pivot of Osterhage and Eggestein seems to be set after both players scored against Basel.
Hoffenheim form & record check
Hoffenheim are currently going through a phase of extreme contrasts. With three wins and two defeats from their last five games, they are a team that fluctuates between brilliant performances and painful setbacks. Interestingly, Christian Ilzer’s team has scored in each of these five games and consistently produced high-scoring matches. The statistics speak for themselves: all matches ended with over 2.5 goals, four out of five even with more than 3.5 goals. The recent match against Bayern Munich highlighted both the qualities and the problems of TSG. Despite the clear 1-4 defeat, the team fought their way back through Coufal, but conceded decisive goals through two penalties against Kane. The defensive vulnerability is becoming a problem, considering that Hoffenheim has conceded at least two goals in four of its last five games. On the other hand, the 4-2 away win in Berlin was convincing, with the offense demonstrating its full potential. The season opener in Leverkusen, with a 2-1 win against the champions, also showed what this team is capable of. With six points, Hoffenheim is in ninth place in the table, with only a minimal gap separating them from Stuttgart and Union Berlin, who have the same number of points. The absences of Hložek, Gendrey, and Machida are forcing Ilzer to make tactical adjustments, but players like Asllani have already proven that they can take on responsibility.
Coach Christian Ilzer is likely to field his Hoffenheim team in their usual 4-4-2 formation. Baumann could be in goal, while the back four will consist of Coufal, Hranac, Hajdari, and Bernardo. Touré, Avdullahu, Burger, and Prass are expected to start in midfield, with the latter providing pace on the left wing. Asllani and Damar could form the striking duo up front. Interestingly, three key regulars, Hložek, Gendrey, and Machida, are out with injuries. On the bench, veterans such as Kramarić and Kabak will be ready to come on and provide a fresh impetus at any time. It will be interesting to see whether Ilzer springs a tactical surprise or sticks with his tried and tested formation.
H2H Freiburg – Hoffenheim Head-to-head comparison & statistics
The record between Freiburg and Hoffenheim could hardly be clearer. In the last five encounters since March 2023, TSG has not managed a single victory, while SC Freiburg has emerged victorious four times. The Breisgauers’ run at the Europa-Park Stadium is particularly noteworthy. They prevailed in front of their home crowd in March 2023 with a 2-1 win and again in January 2024 with a spectacular 3-2 victory. Even the most recent encounter in April 2024 ended 3-2 in favor of Freiburg. Hoffenheim’s only draw came in December 2023 at their home ground, the PreZero Arena. The 1-1 draw interrupted Freiburg’s winning streak, but did not break the underlying pattern. Interestingly, at least three goals were scored in all five games. Hoffenheim clearly have a problem with the first half against Freiburg. In the last three encounters, they were already behind at half-time, which makes the task even more difficult for Christian Ilzer’s team. Both teams score goals regularly, but Freiburg is simply more reliable in front of goal.
Both teams to score: Yes seems to be the most stable approach: Grifo has scored three goals in the last two league games and converts set pieces with surgical precision, while Hoffenheim’s Asllani proves his goal-scoring threat despite the team’s problems. Both teams have scored in every game this season, and the absences of Lienhart for Freiburg and defensive organizer Machida for Hoffenheim are likely to cause further holes in the defensive lines. Freiburg’s victory at odds of around 2.2 offers solid value, as the Breisgauers, with three competitive wins in a row and the momentum of their Europa League success against Basel, appear much more stable than the crisis-stricken Hoffenheim, who are missing their most important creative player in Hložek. As a riskier alternative, a draw is tempting at attractive odds of 3.4. The last three direct duels all produced over 2.5 goals, two ended in a draw, and neither team has a league draw to their name yet. However, Atubolu’s successful penalty streak and the return to their home Europa-Park Stadium tend to favor the home side.
