SC Paderborn vs SC Freiburg preview: Hosts eye dream Bundesliga homecoming

Paderborn are looking for a dream afternoon on Saturday, as they welcome a Freiburg side who have started the season in fine form.

Ralf Kettemann on the sidelines during Paderborn's clash with Mainz.

Pau Barrena/Getty Images

Paderborn

Back in the Bundesliga for the first time in six years, Paderborn made a solid start to life in the top flight last weekend, holding Mainz to a goalless draw at the MEWA Arena.

Ralf Kettemann's side had to weather plenty of pressure in the second half, with goalkeeper Nahuel Noll producing several important saves on his Bundesliga debut to secure a first point of the campaign. The 22-year-old was subsequently named Man of the Match.

Paderborn now return home for what will be their first Bundesliga fixture at the Home Deluxe Arena since 2020, having earned promotion last season through the play-offs.

The last time Freiburg made the trip to Paderborn in the Bundesliga came all the way back in August 2019. Streli Mamba gave the hosts an early lead on that occasion, before Luca Waldschmidt, Nils Petersen and Changhoon Kwon turned the game around to secure a 3-1 win for the visitors.

Having already picked up a point away from home, Kettemann's side will now be hoping to mark their Bundesliga homecoming with a first victory of the campaign.

Team news

Paderborn will have several absentees to contend with, with Timur Gayret, Nyamekye Awortwie-Grant, Lasse Eickel, Sven Michel and Felix Götze all ruled out by Kettemann ahead of the game.

Götze suffered a minor collision in training, while Sebastian Klaas is also listed among those unavailable for the hosts.

Deadline-day arrival Rayan Philippe could provide another attacking option after joining on loan from Hamburger SV.

Click here to see our predicted Paderborn lineup

Freiburg

Freiburg could hardly have asked for a better start to their Bundesliga campaign, cruising to a 4-1 victory against Werder Bremen at the Europa-Park Stadion last weekend.

Yuito Suzuki stole the headlines with a superb hat-trick, while Igor Matanovic also found the back of the net as Julian Schuster's side moved straight into the upper reaches of the early Bundesliga table.

Their league victory continued an excellent start to the new season, with Freiburg having already booked their place in the UEFA Conference League league phase before the Bundesliga got underway.

After beating Motherwell 3-1 in Scotland, Freiburg followed that up with a 4-1 victory on home soil, with Derry Scherhant, Matanovic, Cyriaque Irie and Keisuke Goto sealing a 7-2 aggregate triumph.

Now heading to Paderborn for their first Bundesliga away fixture of the campaign, Schuster's side will be looking to extend their impressive start and make it two league wins from two.

Team news

Patrick Osterhage is expected to miss the trip after sitting out training this week with a muscular problem, while Florent Muslija remains unavailable with a knee injury.

Otherwise, Schuster has plenty of options available to him, with the Freiburg boss highlighting the level of competition within his squad ahead of Saturday's clash.

Philipp Lienhart and Vincenzo Grifo are among those pushing for starts after Freiburg rotated their side during the opening weeks of the season.

Click here to see our predicted Freiburg lineup