Freiburg vs Bayern Munich: A tight encounter but goals from both sides is to be expected

The Bundesliga returns to action this weekend with SC Freiburg taking on Thomas Tuchel's Bayern Munich in a crucial encounter at the Europa Park Stadion on Saturday 8th August.

Bayern Munich now leads the Bundesliga table, despite not being at their best this season. The Bavarian giants defeated Borussia Dortmund 4-2 in their previous league meeting and will look to repeat that triumph this weekend.

SC Freiburg, on the other hand, is presently fourth in the league standings and has performed well this season. The hosts drew 1-1 with Hertha Berlin last week and will need to up their game in this encounter.

SC Freiburg dominated Bayern Munich in the DFB Pokal and will be motivated for this encounter but the class of Bayern should not be underestimated. BTTS is expected in this fixture.

Freiburg will be looking to overcome Bayern Munich for the second time in five days when they play the Bundesliga leaders on Saturday.

Freiburg won their first game at Allianz Arena in the DFB-Pokal quarter-finals on Tuesday. 

Freiburg hasn't kept a clean sheet in their past six games, and they've only scored more than one goal in two of their last eight. They've only failed to score in three of their last ten games. However, one win in four home matches before to this game calls into question their ability to take on Bayern Munich.

Freiburg is on a seven-game undefeated streak in the Bundesliga coming into the encounter against Bayern Munich. They haven't lost a game since a 5-1 thrashing at the hands of Borussia Dortmund in early February. The home side understands the battle ahead to keep their top-four berth ahead of RB Leipzig.

Goalkeeper: Flekken; 

Defenders: Sildillia, Ginter, Gulde, Gunter; 

Midfielders: Eggestein, Hofler; 

Strikers: Doan, Grifo; Holer, Gregoritsch

Bayern will be eager to rebound after having their hopes of capturing the treble for the third time in 11 seasons dashed by Freiburg on Tuesday night.

Tuchel, who took over for Julian Nagelsmann during the recent international break, is unlikely to be disturbed by his team's withdrawal from the DFB-Pokal, especially after returning to the top of the Bundesliga standings with a 4-2 victory over Borussia Dortmund in Der Klassiker last weekend.

Bayern leads Dortmund by just 2 points, hence they cannot afford to lose further points as that may imply the displacement of Bayern Munich at the summit of the Bundesliga table. Saturday's trip to Freiburg is arguably one of their hardest league games left, so if they can return to Munich with all three points, it may be a season-defining occasion.

The former Chelsea manager will have one eye on his side's tense first-leg game against Manchester City in the Champions League quarter-finals on Wednesday, but he will be anxious to avoid complacency and ensure that his players focus on one match at a time.

Goalkeeper: Sommer; 

Defenders: Cancelo, Pavard, De Ligt, Davies; 

Midfielders: Kimmich, Goretzka; Gnabry, Musiala, Coman; 

Striker: Choupo-Moting

Bayern Munich has displayed moments of brilliance this season, but they have been mainly inconsistent. Both sides are now evenly matched and might play to a draw this weekend.

The statistical data shows BTTS has a high chance of occurring. This makes a couple of scorelines possible but the likely ones are 1-1, 1-2, 1-3, or 1-4. Over 9 corners has odds of 2 which makes it very appealing considering the fact that both teams will be attacking. 

Below are the expert's bets to consider.  

• Over 9 corners for 2.00 odds (1xbet);
• BTTS for 1.665 odds (Coinplay);
• Over 2.5 for 1.53 odds (bet365)

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