Preview: Bayer Leverkusen vs. Freiburg - prediction, team news, lineups

The visitors, meanwhile, returned to winning ways with a 2-1 victory against VfL Bochum last weekend.

Match preview

Leverkusen maintained their status at the top of the Bundesliga with a hard-fought 2-1 win away to Wolfsburg, with Xabi Alonso's side displaying that they carry signifcant threat from all areas of the pitch as wing-backs Jeremie Frimpong and Alex Grimaldo both got themselves on the scoresheet.

Wolfsburg defender Maxence Lacroix had levelled the scoring heading into half-time after Frimpong broke the deadlock early on, but Grimaldo's fine strike ensured Die Werkself's winning run continued for another week, as they remained one point clear of Stuttgart.

However, Alonso and his players will likely be more weary of Bayern Munich and to a lesser extent Borussia Dortmund, with last season's title rivals both sitting two points behind Leverkusen heading into the weekend. With those two sides both playing before Leverkusen's fixture against Freiburg, they are likely to be knocked off the summit, ramping up the pressure to keep winning once more.

Leverkusen maintained their perfect record in the Europa League this season by thrashing Qarabag FK 5-1 on Thursday evening, with Florian Wirtz marking his return to the starting XI with a goal after just four minutes. Grimaldo scored twice during the comfortable win, which leaves Alonso's side three points clear of the Azerbaijani champions in Group H.

With group winners in the Europa League receiving a bye into the last-16, Alonso would almost certainly be hugely grateful to avoid adding another two fixtures to his team's calendar after the winter break, as they look to lift the Bundesliga title for the first time in the club's history.

Freiburg, meanwhile, secured an important victory in the Europa League themselves as they ran out 3-1 winners away to Backa Topola. The Serbian side led at the break through Nemanja Petrovic's strike, but Vincenzo Grifo scored a second half hat-trick to move Christian Streich's side level on points with West Ham United in Group A.

This is Breisgau-Brasilianer's second successive season competing in Europe's secondary competition, having finished inside the top six in each of the last two campaigns. They missed out on Champions League qualification by only three points last season, but ironically the emergence of their forthcoming opponents makes that an unlikely aim this time around.

Following their expected defeat away to Bayern, Freiburg had to come from behind once again to defeat Bochum at Europa-Park Stadion last weekend, with Grifo scoring another crucial goal after Ritsu Doan had cancelled out Goncalo Paciencia's early strike for the visitors.

Streich will know that his players must perform much better if they are to have any realistic chance of avoiding defeat away to their in-form opponents this weekend, though, with any defeat potentially damaging for them as it would leave them 12 points behind their opponents in the table.

Bayer Leverkusen Bundesliga form:

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Freiburg Bundesliga form:

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Team News

Alonso made six changes for his side's routine victory against Qarabag on Thursday, with Wirtz's excellent performance likely to have given the Spaniard a serious headache. Jonas Hofmann will certainly come back into the starting XI, but potentially at the expense of Amine Adli rather than Wirtz.

Likewise, Jonathan Tah, Exequiel Palacios and Frimpong will all expect to start after being rested in midweek, but Arthur and Timothy Fosu-Mensah remain sidelined by thigh and knee injuries respectively.

Streich, on the other hand, retained an identical starting XI between the two victories against Bochum and Backa Topola, with his team's position in their Europa League not healthy enough to rest players prior to securing their victory in Serbia.

However, the second longest-serving manager in Europe's major five leagues will have to make at least two changes on Sunday, as Maximilian Philipp and Roland Sallai were both substituted in Serbia due to injury.

Doan could move further forward, allowing either Kiliann Sildillia or Lukas Kubler a place into the side at right wing-back, with Lucas Holer and Michael Gregoritsch competing to lead the visitors' line. Christian Gunter, Daniel-Kofi Kyereh and Yannik Keitel are all expected to miss out on the trip due to injury.

Bayer Leverkusen possible starting lineup:

Hradecky; Kossounou, Tah, Tapsoba; Frimpong, Palacios, Xhaka, Grimaldo; Hofmann, Wirtz; Boniface

Freiburg possible starting lineup:

Atubolu; Ginter, Lienhart, Gulde; Sildillia, Eggestein, Hofler, Weisshaupt; Doan, Grifo; Gregoritsch

We say: Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 Freiburg

Both teams could be a little tired after their exertions in the Europa League on Thursday, but we can envisage Leverkusen's greater squad depth - and fewer amount of injuries - helping them towards a fifth successive victory in the Bundesliga and ending another matchday at the top of the table in the process.

Freiburg have not looked quite as strong as in recent seasons, and while they should still have more than enough quality to secure another top half finish, competing for the top six once again may prove beyond them.

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