Borussia head coach Daniel Farke spoke to the press ahead of Sunday’s game in Freiburg (17:30 CEST). Hear from Farke on…
…the squad: Stevie Lainer has returned to team training after 10 days on the sidelines. He’s not at 100% yet, but is an option for the squad on Sunday. Alassane Plea definitely won’t play, and it’s looking unlikely that Nico Elvedi will be able to. Ko Itakura also won’t be able to feature as he serves his red-card suspension. We will be without a few players, but I’m not complaining about it. I have full confidence in our entire team. We always have options, and this will be a chance for different players to enter into the spotlight and show what they can do.
…potentially being without two centre-backs: We’re limited with our centre-back options. I don’t think that we will be vulnerable due to our pace there. Marvin Friedrich is a quality player and has good chances of starting on Sunday. Tony Jantschke is another player who knows how to play at centre-back. Julian Weigl has played most of his career at centre-mid, but he can play at centre-back too. Chris Kramer and Ramy Bensebaini are also capable of featuring there.
…the return of captain Lars Stindl: We're very happy to have Lars Stindl available again. When he’s fit, then he’s always a candidate to start. He's in good shape right now. His performance off the bench when we were a man down against Mainz was superb - he created a lot of dangerous moments.
…the upcoming opponent: It’s no coincidence that Freiburg are currently top of the table. They have undergone a tremendous development in recent years. They have played at the top level for a while now and have made a brilliant start by picking up 12 points. They always play with a lot of intensity and are tough to beat at home. Playing them away is one of the hardest games in the Bundesliga right now. Freiburg offer a tough challenge. We want to play well and know that we are more than able to compete against any opponent, if we manage to put our game plan into action. Our aim is to take the points back to Mönchengladbach.
…Freiburg’s set-piece prowess: Freiburg are incredibly strong from set pieces, which is something we’ve focused on in training in preparation for this match. Vincenzo Grifo is a real threat from free-kicks, and they have plenty of players that are willing to get on the end of them. We will try to allow them as few set pieces as possible. So far, we have defended well against dead-ball scenarios and want to do so again on Sunday.
