On September 21, 2024 at 21:30, Heidenheim will face Freiburg in the 4th round of the Bundesliga. The match can be watched on Bundesliga Live as well as on the Heidenheim and Freiburg team streams.
Let's start with Heidenheim. Founded in 1846, Heidenheim has won 1 Bundesliga C title and 1 Bundesliga B title. The head coach is 50 years old Frank Schmidt, who has been in charge of Heidenheim since September 2007, and is a decorated manager. In the offseason, Heidenheim spent 1.25 million euros to sign UFB Berlin center forward Kaufmann, 700,000 euros to bring in Paderborn winger Hillerød Konté, 600,000 euros to sign Ulm winger Leo Sienza, and also waived the signings of midfielder Julian Nieuwers and winger Honkosar. Heidenheim's offense is strong, scoring in all 6 matches of the new season, with an average efficiency of 2.83 goals per game. There was no shortage of goals either, with all six regular season games having at least two goals, and five having at least three. However, in the off-season, Heidenheim's main winger Best moved to Benfica for 8 million euros, and main center forward Kleindienst moved to Borussia Mönchengladbach for 7 million euros. Wide defender Seydi Djaju, center forward Christian Kjaerweit and winger Florian Peek left the club after their contracts expired. Heidenheim lost to Borussia Dortmund 2-4 in the last round and suffered the first defeat in the new season.
Let's look at Freiburg. Freiburg was founded in 1904 and played in the regional league in the early years. It was only in 1978 that Freiburg made its debut in the Bundesliga, and won three Bundesliga Championships. The head coach is 39-year-old Julian Schuster, who has been the head coach of Freiburg's youth team until July 2024, when he became the head coach of Freiburg. In the offseason, Freiburg spent 5 million euros to bring in Werder Bremen winger Allan Dinci, 4.8 million euros to sign Bochum midfielder Osterhaag, and waived the signing of goalkeeper Yannick Huth. Freiburg defeated Bochum 2-0 at home in the last round of the league, and won 3 and lost 1 of their 4 matches in the new season, with Bayern, the Bundesliga's dominant rivals, being a normal opponent. Freiburg's offense is not bad, only 1 of the 4 matches in the new season did not score, and the average efficiency is as high as 2.5 goals. But Freiburg's off-season transfer of wingback Hugo Siquette to Bruges for 3 million euros and centerback Kevin Schlotterbeck to Augsburg for 2.5 million euros. Back-rower Yannick Keitel and goalkeeper Uphoff are out of contract. Last season, Freiburg drew 1 and lost 1 in home and away matches against Heidenheim, and are at a disadvantage in recent encounters.
Heidenheim is a mid-tier Bundesliga team with a good offense but a shaky defense, and is now ranked 4th in the league, while Freiburg is also a mid-tier Bundesliga team with a good overall strength but a poor defense, and is now ranked 6th in the league.
This game should be a bit of a stalemate, with a draw favored.
