Freiburg vs Schalke 04 Preview: Team News & Prediction

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Freiburg will hope to continue their red-hot form as they welcome Schalke 04 to the Black Forest.

Kick-off date/time: 11 October 2026 at 4:30 pm

How to watch on TV: UK – Amazon Prime Video / USA – ESPN

How to watch online: UK – Amazon Prime Video / USA – ESPN+

Freiburg preview: Still unbeaten

Following the international break and Saturday’s fixtures, Freiburg now stand as one of three clubs still yet to taste defeat in the Bundesliga this season. They are in third-place, having won their first three matches before drawing 2-2 away at Eintracht Frankfurt, coming from behind twice in order to claim a point.

At home, Julian Schuster’s side have been among the most impressive performers across the league, racking up nine goals after beating Werder Bremen 4-1 and thrashing rock bottom Borussia Monchengladbach 5-0.

Schalke 04 preview: Hard to beat

What’s notable about Schalke 04’s start to the season has been their toughness and stability at the back. Two goalless draws, including one against defending Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich underlines how tough they’ve been to get past and a 1-3 win away to Union Berlin underlines the threat they also pose offensively.

It’s been a terrific response to losing 3-0 against Augsburg to begin the season, with Miron Muslic having clearly gotten his ideas across well on the training ground and his players look extremely well drilled, particularly from a defensive standpoint.

Freiburg team news: Muslija out of the picture

Midfielder Florent Muslija is the only definite absentee for Freiburg with a knee injury ruling him out of contention for this match.

Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Backhaus; Treu, Ginter, Lienhart, Makengo; Eggestein, Engelhardt; Beste, Suzuki, Scherhant; Matanovic

Unavailable: Muslija (Injured)

Questionable: 

Schalke 04 team news: Late call on Lasme

Schalke 04 are expected to hand Bryan Lasme a late fitness test to determine if he is available to play following a calf problem. Hojlund, Ljubicic and Siebeking are all out.

Predicted XI (3-4-3): Karius; Becker, Katic, Kurucay; Dina Ebimbe, El-Faouzi, Tanaka, Gosens; Karaman, Sylla, Aouchiche

Unavailable Hojlund (Injured), Ljubicic (Injured), Siebeking (Injured)

Questionable: Lasme (Injured)

Freiburg vs Schalke 04 prediction

For much of this encounter it may well prove to battle a battle between attack and defence, as Freiburg attempt to break down what will be a well-drilled, stubborn Schalke 04 backline. The visitors should keep plenty of bodies behind the ball and Julian Schuster’s side will likely need to be patient, it’s unlikely they will score as many goals as we’ve seen from them at home throughout the season so far.

However, this is an extremely strong and deep Freiburg squad and with both the individual quality at their disposal, along with the way they are linking up as a team, you would expect them to eventually find a route through. Don’t anticipate many goals, but back Freiburg to pick up the three points. 

Freiburg vs Schalke 04 tip: Freiburg to win and under 3.5 goals