Freiburg travel to Stuttgart for a DFB Cup semi-final on Thursday evening and head coach Julian Schuster warned his players they must be ready to suffer against the holders. "It will be a tough challenge, but one we are approaching with plenty of self-belief," Schuster said, adding that discipline will be crucial: "It is hugely important to have the discipline to carry out what you have worked on in your game plan."
The stakes are clear: a win sends Freiburg to only their second ever domestic cup final, while Stuttgart arrive as defending DFB Cup champions and the team to beat in Berlin last season. Sebastian Hoeneß said Stuttgart are driven by that status and the desire to reach a second successive final: "We’re highly, highly motivated to reach our second DFB Cup final in succession – you can already feel the positive energy among the lads."
Form and figures lend weight to the encounter. Stuttgart have scored 62 Bundesliga goals this season, a mark that underlines their attacking threat even if it still trails Bayern Munich’s 109. Freiburg are in strong shape too, having won six of their last seven games across all competitions and secured consecutive league victories for the first time in the 2026 calendar year after beating Mainz 1-0 and Heidenheim 2-1. Their cup run included a penalty shoot-out win over Hertha Berlin after a 1-1 draw in the previous DFB-Pokal round.
Past meetings add a scoreboard storyline. The sides met on Matchday 20 in the Bundesliga, when Stuttgart took a 1-0 win, and Freiburg lost 3-2 to Bayern on April 4 in a separate league test. Stuttgart’s cup pedigree this season includes a 3-0 quarter-final victory over Holstein Kiel on February 4 and a 4-0 Bundesliga victory over Wolfsburg that doubled as Sebastian Hoeneß’s 100th match in charge.
There is a clear tension beneath the surface. Stuttgart sit fourth in the Bundesliga but have been inconsistent, alternating between victory and defeat across their last seven matches in all competitions — a pattern that suggests they can be caught even as they defend the trophy. Freiburg, by contrast, are grinding toward a rare cup final while balancing deep runs in two competitions.
That balance is the most immediate complication for Schuster and his squad. Freiburg have a UEFA Europa League semi-final against SC Braga next week, a fixture that looms large and forces hard choices about recovery, rotation and risk. Schuster framed the physical and mental demands plainly: "Of course, we’ll need a performance where we are at our best in many areas, and we also have to accept that the opposition have their qualities. There will be moments when we have to be ready to suffer," he said.
Hoeneß sees the fixture differently, as proof that Stuttgart can turn cup experience into momentum. He pointed to the squad’s focus and motivation as decisive in a one-off match: "We’re highly, highly motivated to reach our second DFB Cup final in succession – you can already feel the positive energy among the lads." The contrast between Freiburg’s recent winning run — six of their last seven — and Stuttgart’s scoring threat and cup pedigree frames the match as a clash of momentum versus experience.
The immediate consequence is simple: the winner progresses to the final. The less simple question is which strain will tell first — Freiburg’s busy schedule and resolve or Stuttgart’s status as holders and attacking record. Schuster ended his assessment with a belief that underlines the club’s approach: "All you need to do is look into their eyes to see how alert they are. I’m very confident that tomorrow we’ll have the energy we need to win."
