Preview: Freiburg vs. Hoffenheim – prediction, team news, lineups

Struggling Hoffenheim make the trip to the Europa-Park Stadion to face high-flying Freiburg in the Bundesliga on Sunday.

Freiburg have been in sensational form this season, but lost to Juventus in Turin in Europe on Thursday.

Match preview

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With the prospect of qualifying for the Champions League for the first time in the club’s history, Freiburg will be confident this weekend despite a run of three games without a win.

They enter the weekend level on points with RB Leipzig in fourth, and just two points behind a faltering Union Berlin a place higher.

Despite the lack of wins, they are still four games unbeaten domestically, a run which helped repair the damage caused by 5-1 and 6-0 thrashings at the hands of Borussia Dortmund and Wolfsburg respectively.

Those heavy defeats look even more surprising when you consider that Freiburg have kept a league-high 10 clean sheets this season.

That has been necessary though, given that no side in the top 11 has scored fewer goals than Freiburg.

Christian Streich‘s side have the opportunity to set a new club record this weekend, because if they avoid defeat it will be the first time they have ever gone 11 games unbeaten at home in the league.

Their only league defeat at home this season came all the way back in their first, against Dortmund in August, so that illustrates the magnitude of the challenge facing a Hoffenheim side woefully out of form.

Bochum’s win on Friday night means that Hoffenheim have now dropped into the automatic relegation places for the first time this season.

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The Bundesliga’s bottom three are all tied on points with Bochum and Hertha Berlin also in the battle to stay up.

Worryingly for Hoffenheim, they are in the biggest slump out of all their direct rivals.

Six league defeats in succession has equalled a club record in the top flight for games lost in a row, having only happened once before, in 2012.

Their defeat at Mainz last week has set a new club record for the longest winless streak in the club’s history, which has now stretched back 13 games, in which time they have picked up a meager two points.

Their fall off can be perfectly summed up by the fact that they had almost double the amount of points at the same stage last season, 37 after 23 games, but they are on just 19 this campaign.

For a side that has become accustomed to scoring goals on a regular basis, they have drawn a blank three games in a row, and yet another unwanted record could be equalled if they fail to do so again here, as only once before have they failed to score in four straight games.

In the last six Bundesliga seasons, Hoffenheim have scored at least 50 goals, and they even managed 70 in 2018-19, but the goals have dried up and they are feeling the full effects of that.

Their new manager Pellegrino Matarazzo has a dire record when facing Freiburg as a manager too, losing all five meetings against the side from south-west Germany.

Freiburg Bundesliga form:

Freiburg form (all competitions):

Hoffenheim Bundesliga form:

Hoffenheim form (all competitions):

Team News

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Philipp Lienhart went off injured for Freiburg at the Allianz Stadium in midweek and is likely to miss out here.

Daniel-Kofi Kyereh is the only other injury concern, as Jeong Woo-yeong should return from illness.

Christoph Baumgartner will be suspended for Hoffenheim after picking up his fifth booking of the season last weekend.

Jacob Bruun Larsen and Grischa Promel are the two first-team regulars out injured for this one.

Kevin Vogt is set to make his 300th Bundesliga appearance in defence for the visitors.

Freiburg possible starting lineup:
Flekken; Sidillia, Ginter, Gulde; Kubler, Hofler, Eggestein, Grifo, Gunter; Holer, Sallai

Hoffenheim possible starting lineup:
Baumann; Kaderabek, Kabak, Vogt, Akpoguma, Angelino; Delaney, Geiger; Kramaric, Dolberg, Bebou

We say: Freiburg 2-0 Hoffenheim

Freiburg have only lost once in their last eight games against Hoffenheim, and the form book suggests they will add to that impressive recent run of form against their upcoming opponents here.

With Hoffenheim breaking unwanted club records with regularity of late, they will need a big performance to get anything from this one.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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