Preview: Freiburg vs. FC Koln - prediction, team news, lineups

At a venue where Koln have enjoyed relatively little success, they need to buck that trend if they want to move out of the relegation zone before the winter break.

Match preview

Freiburg come into the clash on the back of a difficult night in East London on Thursday, where they were beaten 2-0 by West Ham United in the Europa League.

The game was beyond them by half time, and despite a spirited second-half display, they were condemned to second place in the group and now must enter the playoffs in February for a spot in the last 16.

That result also brought to an end a three-game winning run that stands them in good stead heading into the winter break, with Christian Streich's side certainly in the race for European qualification.

Performances of German clubs in Europe could see the Bundesliga be given a fifth spot in the Champions League, and eight places in UEFA competition altogether, so sitting in eighth is a healthy place to be for Freiburg currently.

They are just four points behind Borussia Dortmund who occupy fifth at the moment, with the top four breaking away, but with the race for positions so tight, a goal difference of minus six is slightly concerning for Freiburg.

Facing opponents who they have enjoyed great success against in recent years should give the side confidence despite their midweek defeat, though.

Freiburg have won 11 of their previous 16 meetings with Koln, including completing the double over them last season, and winning the two league fixtures in the 2020-21 season by a combined scoreline of 9-1.

This has been a dreadful place for Koln to come in recent years, not only because of the length of the trip, but also due to the fact they have won just once in their last 17 visits.

Steffen Baumgart has tightened up since Koln made a dreadful start, conceding 17 goals in a six-game stretch between October and November - losing five.

Second-tier strugglers Kaiserslautern then dumped them out of the DFB-Pokal, at one point going 3-0 down in a sorry performance at the Fritz Walter Stadion.

Only one win in five games has followed, but they have only conceded three, and six of their 10 points this season has come in this time.

Darmstadt were the one side they have got the better of, and that took them off the bottom of the table, before a draw with Mainz last week kept them out of the automatic relegation spots.

With two away games to come before the break though, Baumgart may find it tough to drag his side out of the bottom three, and there was more bad news for the club this week, as they were handed a record-breaking €595,000 (£510,000) fine following their fans' use of pyrotechnics during the derby with Borussia Monchengladbach in October.

Freiburg Bundesliga form:

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Freiburg form (all competitions):

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FC Koln Bundesliga form:

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FC Koln form (all competitions):

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Team News

Streich picked a full strength Freiburg team for their trip to the London Stadium in midweek, so they may remain largely unchanged here.

Young forward Noah Weisshaupt returned from illness to make an appearance off the bench, but the hosts remain without a large number of first-team players.

Captain Christian Gunter is among those out after breaking his arm earlier in the season, while Daniel-Kofi Kyereh, Maximilian Philipp and Yannik Keitel are also sidelined.

Koln's Julian Chabot is a doubt after he was taken off in the first half of their clash with Mainz last week, with Kosovan full-back Leart Paqarada also facing a late fitness test ahead of this one.

Florian Kainz is touch and go about whether he will be fit enough to feature, but Sargis Adamyan and Faride Alidou will definitely miss out.

With the potential absences of Kainz, Adamyan and Paqarada, Austrian Dejan Ljubicic could be the only non-German selected in the starting lineup here for the visitors.

Freiburg possible starting lineup:

Atubolu; Sildillia, Ginter, Gulde, Kubler; Doan, Eggestein, Hofler, Grifo; Sallai, Gregoritsch

FC Koln possible starting lineup:

Schwabe; Carstensen, Hubers, Kilian, Heintz; Martel, Ljubicic; Thielmann, Waldschmidt, Maina; Selke

We say: Freiburg 1-1 FC Koln

Koln have become a frustrating side to play against of late, and even Bayern Munich could only score once past them in a narrow defeat for Baumgart's side.

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