Bayer Leverkusen vs Freiburg preview: Will there be a twist in the top four race?
Freiburg enter the final matchday still holding onto the lingering hopes that they could achieve a top four finish, but to stand any chance of moving into the Champions League places, they must beat Bayer Leverkusen.
Bayer Leverkusen
Leverkusen enter the contest with no pressure on their shoulders after they secured a Champions League place last weekend.
Die Werkself made sure that third spot will be theirs, with a 4-2 victory over Hoffenheim. Georginio Rutter opened the scoring for Hoffenheim before Patrik Schick restored parity, however, Christoph Baumgartner found the net two minutes to restore Hoffenheim's advantage.
Gerardo Seoane's charges seemed destined to end up on the losing side, but three goals in the final 20 minutes saw Leverkusen turn the contest on its head.
That result gave Leverkusen their third consecutive victory, and they will have the opportunity on Saturday to win four successive league games for the second time this season.
The third highest scorers in the Bundesliga will believe that they have the firepower to beat Freiburg, especially as Leverkusen have scored 10 goals in their last three matches.
Team News
Karim Bellarabi, Amine Adli, Timothy Fosu-Mensah and Florian Wirtz are all unavailable for the hosts due to injury issues.
Freiburg
Freiburg's hopes of a top four finish were dealt a heavy blow last weekend as they fell to a demoralising 4-1 defeat away to Union Berlin.
Not only did the defeat end Freiburg's six-game unbeaten run, but it also allowed RB Leipzig to move above the Breisgau-Brasilianer into fourth position.
Freiburg still have an outside chance of qualifying for the Champions League, with two points separating themselves from Die Roten Bullen.
Due to Leipzig's significantly superior goal difference, Freiburg will need to beat Leverkusen and hope Leipzig lose to Arminia Bielefeld.
Even if Christian Streich's side are unable to move into the Champions League places, they will still qualify for European competition and not many pundits believed that would be the case at the start of the season.
They also have a DFB-Pokal final to look forward to, highlighting the success Freiburg have enjoyed this term.
As they look to put the pressure on Leipzig, the Breisgau-Brasilianer can take confidence from the fact that they have won their last three away games in all competitions.
Team News
Noah Weißhaupt is ruled out with a shoulder injury, and the 20-year-old is joined on the sidelines by Kevin Schade and Yannik Keitel.