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Jerry St. Juste of Mainz has been ruled out of a league fastest players meeting against Kevin Schade of Freiburg on Saturday afternoon (kick-off: 3:30 p.m. CET).
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Schade’s blistering pace couldn’t help him find a way past experienced Cologne full-back Jonas Hector in last weekend’s 1-0 loss to Cologne, but despite being substituted at mid- time after winning just 12% of his challenges, the second-fastest player in the Bundesliga this season is set to start against Mainz, home of the league’s fastest player, Saint-Juste. Speaking of speed, Freiburg need to find a fast path to victory after slipping out of the top four with just one win in their last four Bundesliga matches. Jonathan Schmid celebrated his return after a long absence dating back to Matchday 2, with a late appearance as a substitute for Cologne, and while he offers another option to Christian Streich, Lukas Kübler is expected to retain his starting spot. ‘back right. Roland Sallai is another option, if Streich goes for a three-man attack.
St. Juste missed out on the 2-0 win over Hoffenheim on Matchday 21 and the Dutch defender is now ruled out of a return to the Mainz defense this weekend after undergoing shoulder surgery. Head coach Bo Svensson could therefore stay with the side that ended a two-game losing streak by beating Hoffenheim, meaning a fresh start for Alexander Hack. The win kept the 05ers in a tight chase for places in Europe next season and Svensson received a boost to his side’s prospects with the return of Dominik Kohr, whose last start was in November. The midfielder has now recovered from a thigh injury and, having played the final quarter in the win over Hoffenheim, is now in contention for a starting role this Saturday.
Look: Mainz and Freiburg meet in a goalless draw
Match statistics
- Vincenzo Grifo is Freiburg’s top provider this season with six assists, with the dead ball specialist contributing to the club’s 16 league goals from set pieces.
- Freiburg and German full-back Christian Günter made their 100th consecutive Bundesliga start in last week’s loss to Cologne.
- Freiburg have gone unbeaten in their first 10 Bundesliga games this season, but have now lost six of their last 11 league matches and won just one in four in 2022.
- St. Juste of Mainz is the fastest player in the Bundesliga this season with a top speed of 22.7 mph. Second is Schade from Freiburg (22.6 mph).
- Mainz have kept the most clean sheets in the league this season with eight. Second place is jointly held by Freiburg and Bayern Munich with seven each.
- The 05ers are unbeaten in their last three games against Freiburg (W2, D1), including a 0-0 draw at home on Matchday 5. They have more wins against the home side (14) than any other club in their Bundesliga history.
The probable compositions
Freiburg: Flekken – Kübler, Lienhart, N. Schlotterbeck, Günter (c) – Schade, Eggestein, Höfler, Grifo – Demirovic, Höler
Outside: K. Schlotterbeck (not included)
Doubtful: –
Coach: Christian Strich
Mainz: Zentner – Hack, Bell, Niakhate (c) – Widmer, Barreiro, Lee, Kohr, Martin – Onisiwo, Burkardt
Outside: Ingvartsen (groin), St. Just (shoulder), Tauer (groin)
Doubtful: –
Coach: Bo Svensson
