Preview: Freiburg vs. Bayern Munich - prediction, team news, lineups

Christian Streich's side claimed their first ever victory at Allianz Arena with a 2-1 win in the DFB-Pokal quarter-finals on Tuesday.

Match preview

Indeed, it was a truly historic night for Freiburg as they booked their place in the last four of Germany's domestic cup for the second successive season, having lost on penalties to RB Leipzig in last season's final.

Dayot Upamecano appeared to be sending Bayern to a comfortable home win when towering highest to head the Bavarians into a 19th-minute lead following fine interplay from Joao Cancelo and Leroy Sane down the left flank to force a corner, but Nicolas Hofler's rasping drive from 25 yards levelled the proceedings eight minutes later.

With Matthias Ginter clearing Thomas Muller's effort off the line moments before half-time, Benjamin Pavard, Sane and Serge Gnabry all squandered chances to restore their side's lead after the break, with Lucas Holer punishing Thomas Tuchel's side by coolly dispatching a penalty in injury-time following Jamal Musiala's blatant handball.

While Streich will be desperate to go one better than last season's agonising defeat to Leipzig, he will also be keen to ensure that his side do not lose focus of their primary target this season: qualifying for the Champions League for the first time in the club's history.

Despite dropping two points at home to Hertha Berlin after drawing 1-1 against the relegation-threatened side last weekend, Leipzig's surprising 3-0 defeat at home to Mainz 05 meant that Breisgau-Brasilianer extended their lead over their main rivals for fourth spot to two points, but only another win against the reigning champions on Saturday will guarantee that Freiburg remain in the driving seat by the end of the weekend.

Bayern, meanwhile, will be keen to bounce back after seeing their aspirations of winning a treble for the third time in 11 seasons ended at the hands of Freiburg on Tuesday night.

Tuchel, who replaced Julian Nagelsmann as manager during the recent international break, is unlikely to be too concerned about his side's exit from the DFB-Pokal, especially having returned to the top of the Bundesliga table by dismantling Borussia Dortmund 4-2 in Der Klassiker last weekend.

With Dortmund and Union Berlin both within four points of Bayern, they can not afford too many more dropped points between now and the end of the campaign if they are to lift an astonishing 11th consecutive Bundesliga title. Saturday's trip to Freiburg undoubtedly represents one of their toughest league games remaining, so if they can return to Munich with all three points, it will be a potentially pivotal moment of the season.

The former Chelsea boss may have one eye on his side's tantalising first leg tie at home against Manchester City in the Champions League quarter-finals on Wednesday, but he will be keen to guard against complacency and ensure that his players are focusing on one match at a time.

Freiburg Bundesliga form:

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Freiburg form (all competitions):

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Bayern Munich Bundesliga form:

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Bayern Munich form (all competitions):

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Team News

Upamecano, who scored the opener against Freiburg in Tuesday night's defeat, will be unable to feature against Streich's side after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season against Dortmund last time out.

Pavard could tuck inside to partner Matthijs de Ligt at the heart of the hosts' defence, with Cancelo switching to right-back and Alphonso Davies returning to the starting XI on the opposite flank after being rested in midweek.

That was Tuchel's only change from the 4-2 win against his former club Dortmund, but the 49-year-old will be keen to involve Gnabry, Musiala and Sadio Mane for longer periods of this match - whether from the start or the bench - ahead of a crucial match against Man City on Wednesday.

Freiburg, meanwhile, appear set to be without Philipp Lienhart once again due to a thigh issue, meaning Manuel Gulde will continue alongside Ginter in defence.

Streich utilised a back four at Allianz Arena for their shock victory against the Bavarians, and he may see no reason to make any changes to his starting XI at all after competing excellently throughout the encounter, especially with Lukas Kubler suffering with illness after missing out on Tuesday's trip.

Daniel-Kofi Kyereh remains sidelined until much later in the calendar year due to a serious ACL injury.

Freiburg possible starting lineup:

Flekken; Sildillia, Ginter, Gulde, Gunter; Eggestein, Hofler; Doan, Grifo; Holer, Gregoritsch

Bayern Munich possible starting lineup:

Sommer; Cancelo, Pavard, De Ligt, Davies; Kimmich, Goretzka; Gnabry, Musiala, Coman; Choupo-Moting

We say: Freiburg 1-2 Bayern Munich

Bayern will be desperate to avenge their cup defeat to Freiburg by claiming all three points at Europa-Park Stadion on Saturday, especially with Dortmund able to leapfrog them at the top of the table should Streich's side prove victorious once again.

The hosts will look to hit Bayern in transition and from set-pieces once again, but we expect Bayern to stand tall this time around and claim a crucial win.

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