NO EASY GAME FOR EAGLES AGAINST FREIBURG
Eintracht Frankfurt's unbeaten start to 2012/13 goes under the microscope once again with the Matchday 6 visit of SC Freiburg to the Commerzbank Arena on Sunday (kick-off 15:30 CET).
"No easy Bundesliga matches"
Even the challenge of the reigning champions failed to break the resistance of Armin Veh's high-flying Eagles, who extended their streak to five Bundesliga outings without defeat after the barnstorming 3-3 draw in Dortmund on Tuesday night.
Eintracht could find themselves on 16 points with victory against Freiburg, but Veh was quick to dismiss suggestions it'll be an easy ride against the 12th-placed club from Baden-Wüttemberg. "Freiburg are direct competition. If we win it's a big step", he said.
It's certainly not unrealistic for Veh's side to be given the pre-match 'favourties' tag, but it's not uncommon to see promoted sides enjoy such blistering starts to life in the top-flight before falling away further down the line. Accordingly, Veh wisely warned, "there are no easy games in the Bundesliga".
Out of luck
Freiburg ran-out 1-0 winners the last time the two sides met in Hessen, but luck seems to be evading Christian Streich's side so far this season. "Sometimes you put your all into a game and end up losing", said the coach after seeing his side throw away a 1-0 lead against Werder Bremen on Matchday 5.
It's a defeat that leaves the club perilously close to their struggling southern neighbours that make up the bottom three, with Streich's men only three points better off than 17th-placed VfB Stuttgart after recording just one win all season.
Aigner's patch
Eintracht have now matched their their record 13-point haul for the first five games of a season, first achieved in 1993-94, and will be confident of putting more points on the board against a Freiburg side that's conceded eight goals to date. Veh is unlikely to ring the changes, as striker Stefan Aigner goes in search of his fourth goal in as many home games.
The quality of Eintracht's top-four busting squad hasn't gone unnoticed by Freiburg coach Streich, who reeled off a who's who of Eintracht talent in his pre-match press conference, before suggesting he my use Sebastian Freis or Erik Jendrisek to counter the threat of Takashi Inui and Co.
Probable line-ups:
Eintracht Frankfurt: Trapp - S. Jung, Zambrano, Anderson, Oczipka - Schwegler, Rode - Aigner, Meier, Inui - Occean
SC Freiburg: Baumann - Mujdza, Ginter, Diagne, Sorg - Makiadi, Schuster - Schmid, D. Caligiuri - M. Kruse, Guedé
Want more Bundesliga Action?