After starting the year with three wins, Borussia Dortmund will be looking to continue their run when SC Freiburg visit SIGNAL IDUNA PARK on Saturday (15:30 CET).

BVB and Freiburg go into this clash in fourth and fifth place in the table respectively. Both teams have 34 points on the board and are only separated by goal difference. But while the Black & Yellows have won their last three matches – against Augsburg, Mainz and Leverkusen – Freiburg have kicked off the new year with a mixed bag of results: a 6-0 defeat at the hands of Wolfsburg, a draw against Frankfurt (1-1) and a victory over Augsburg (3-1).  

"The match against Wolfsburg was the first after the winter break. They played great games against Frankfurt and Augsburg after that. They showed the right reaction," analysed BVB coach Edin Terzic. "What impressed me was the way that they dealt with it. They stayed true to their system the whole game because they believed in it. Even when they were 5-0 down, they continued to do everything the same way as though it was 0-0." Terzic is expecting "an intense match that will once again be tight. But we're ready."

On the personnel front, the coach is still without Mateu Morey and Thomas Meunier for the Freiburg match - although Meunier is expected to return to team training on Thursday. Salih Özcan misses out through suspension. There is a good chance that Emre Can will remain in defensive midfield against Freiburg. "He is very tough-tackling, very strong in ground and aerial challenges. And he does really well on the ball, gets into good spaces," said Terzic of his defender. "He took the opportunity on Sunday. We hope that he'll keep performing that way because then he's an important player."

A full training ground does also mean some tough decisions to make for the coach, however. "We've rewarded good performances and reacted to poorer performances. With us, everyone has the chance to earn everything. There will be an internal battle for the starting places in training today and tomorrow."

The 11 starters and possible substitutes will then be tasked with picking up the fourth victory of the new year against Freiburg on Saturday and keeping the run going, because "three wins will not be sufficient in order to achieve our objectives. It was very intense in training during the week. That's the performance culture that we want to have."
Christina Reinke

BVB-TV by 1&1: The press conference prior to the game against Freiburg