SC Freiburg vs. FC Köln preview: European hopefuls host resurgent Billy Goats

Freiburg

Freiburg enjoyed an impressive 2024-25 campaign that ended with a fifth-place finish and Europa League qualification, but Julian Schuster’s side face an uphill task to repeat that feat this season. With 16 games remaining, Die Breisgauer are currently eight points adrift of the European places.

Last weekend’s 2-2 draw away at Augsburg summed up their recent frustrations. Freiburg had already been beaten 2-0 by RB Leipzig the week before, and the fact that relegation-threatened Augsburg raced into a two-goal lead made the dropped points all the more disappointing. 

As a result, Schuster’s men remain eighth in the Bundesliga table and were unable to capitalise on defeats for Bayer Leverkusen and RB Leipzig on matchday 18.

Though some confidence was restored on Thursday evening, with Freiburg's 1-0 win over Maccabi Tel Aviv all but securing an automatic berth in the Europa League round of 16 - a competition in which the hosts have fared excellently this term.

Team news

Freiburg have few injury concerns, although centre-back Philipp Lienhart remains sidelined with an abdominal injury and is still several weeks away from a return. In his absence, Max Rosenfelder will likely start alongside Matthias Ginter.

Daniel-Kofi Kyereh has returned to training after a lengthy layoff but is unlikely to be ready for selection, having not featured competitively since February 2023.

Predicted lineup - 4-2-3-1: Atubolu - Kübler, Ginter, Rosenfelder, Günter - Eggestein, Manzambi - Treu, Suzuki, Grifo - Höler

FC Köln

Köln travel to Freiburg buoyed by finally ending a prolonged winless run in the Bundesliga. 

Lukas Kwasniok’s side came from behind to beat Mainz 2-1 last weekend, securing their first league victory since November, and ending an eight-match run without a win.

That result lifted the Billy Goats up to 10th in the table with 20 points, giving the promoted side some breathing room, with a seven-point gap to the relegation zone. 

While Köln began their return to the top flight with back-to-back victories, including a 4-1 win over Freiburg in August, consistency has proved elusive, with just two wins in their following 13 Bundesliga matches.

Köln head into Sunday’s clash as underdogs, but there are signs of improvement away from home. They have avoided defeat in two of their last three matches on the road, although they have still lost three of their last five away fixtures. 

A win on Sunday would move Köln within one point of Freiburg, while defeat could drag them back towards danger, with Werder Bremen only two points behind in 14th.

Team news

Köln remain deep into a defensive injury crisis, with Luca Kilian and Timo Hübers both sidelined with season-ending knee injuries, while Dominique Heintz, Jahmai Simpson-Pusey and Joel Schmied are dealing with medium-term problems.

Sebastian Sebulonsen, Rav van den Berg and Cenk Özkacar are expected to form a three-man defence, with Heintz and Simpson-Pusey targeting returns in early February.

Predicted lineup - 4-3-3: Schwäbe - Castro-Montes, Sebulonsen, Berg, Lund - Kaminsku, Martel, Krauß - Maina, Ache, Bülter