German Bundesliga - Wolfsburg vs. Freiburg - Preview & Prediction
Two teams, battling for a top-six finish in the Bundesliga this season, will face off against each other, as 6th-placed Wolfsburg will be playing host to 8th-placed Freiburg. Kick-off - at 9:30 PM ET on Saturday, June 13.
Wolfsburg Triumph In Bremen
The excellent road form of Wolfsburg continued, as the team recorded its third consecutive away win, extending its unbeaten travel run to six matches (W5 D1) following a 1-0 triumph against Werder Bremen at Wohninvest-Weserstadion on Sunday. Both teams exchanged plenty of scoring chances throughout the contest, with the 82nd-minute header by Wout Weghorst, who tallied for the first time since the Bundesliga restart, remaining the only marker of the game, as the Wolves beat the Green-Whites for the first time in four-and-a-half years. Wolfsburg have lost just two of their previous 11 matches (W6 D3 L2) and are 6th in the league (W12 D9 L9), two points ahead of 7th-placed Hoffenheim.
Dutch striker Weghorst has netted a team-leading 12 snipes but has scored just once in his last five Bundesliga games. Goalie Koen Casteels, meanwhile, occupies the 17th place in the league with 63 saves in 22 appearances. He has recorded five clean sheets and concedes a goal every 71 minutes on average. Wolfsburg has netted the 9th highest quantity of goals this season (42), having delivered the 5th highest amount of shots per game (14). The team is 9th in ball possession (48.8%) and 14th in passing accuracy (75.7%).
Freiburg Beat Gladbach
A four-game winless streak (D2 L2) finally ended for Freiburg, who edged out the top-four aspirants Borussia Monchengladbach with a score of 1-0 at home at Schwarzwald-Stadion on Friday. Gladbach, who had not won a single game at Freiburg since March 2002, dominated in ball possession (65%) and shots (18-15), but ultimately conceded the only strike of the contest, with striker Nils Petersen scoring just a minute after coming on as a second-half replacement, thus extending his Bundesliga goal-scoring record as a substitute to 24 markers. The Black Forest club still sits 8th in the standings (W11 D8 L11), trailing the top-six by four points.
Petersen leads Freiburg with 10 league markers, having scored twice in his last three appearances. Goalie Alexander Schwolow, meanwhile, is 12th in the Bundesliga, having stopped 74 shots in 21 games. He has picked up four clean sheets and allows a goal every 70 minutes of play. Freiburg have netted the 12th highest number of goals so far this year (39), while having taken the 9th highest quantity of shots per game (13.1). The team is 11th in ball possession (48.1%) and 8th in passing accuracy (78.0%).
Prediction
Freiburg have gone unbeaten against Wolfsburg in their last three head-to-head encounters (W2 D1) and have triumphed away at the Wolves on two of the past three occasions (W2 L1). Do not let that distract you from the fact that the Black Forest club has been more than shaky on the road lately, earning just a single victory on its last 12 travels (W1 D6 L5). A draw, though, is definitely a possibility here, especially with Freiburg having already tied half of their last 12 away matches, and Wolfsburg being quite unreliable on own turf recently, having failed to win any of their past three domestic contests (D1 L2).
Best bet:
Draw (+295)
