Preview: Kaiserslautern vs. Freiburg - prediction, team news, lineups

The hosts have twice won Germany's domestic cup, while Freiburg finished as runners-up last season after losing to RB Leipzig in the final.

Match preview

After being relegated to the third tier of German football for the first time in their history in 2018, Kaiserslautern have returned to 2. Bundesliga after winning the promotion playoffs last season.

Die Roten Teufel, who uniquely won the Bundesliga as a newly-promoted team in 1998, have had quite the fall from grace in recent years. Financial mismanagement saw the four-time Bundesliga champions fall outside of the top two divisions altogether after a 33-year uninterrupted stay in the top flight between 1963 and 1996.

However, their fans will hope that those dark days are very much behind them now, with four points from their opening two league games suggesting that they should be able to compete at the top end of the table this season as they look to end their absence from the Bundesliga.

Attracting goalkeeper Andreas Luthe and former Germany full-back Erik Durm from Bundesliga sides this summer certainly shows the ambition of the club. Manager Dirk Schuster, who made an instant impact with the 2-0 aggregate victory over Dynamo Dresden to gain promotion in May, will be confident of securing a major upset against high-flying Freiburg on Sunday.

Freiburg should be full of confidence after enjoying one of their most successful ever seasons, even if the aforementioned DFB-Pokal final defeat to Leipzig in May would have been a gruelling one to end the campaign on.

Breisgau-Brasilianer looked almost certain to lift their first ever major trophy after Maximilian Eggestein's 19th-minute opener was followed by Leipzig defender Marcel Halstenberg being given his marching orders shortly before the hour mark.

However, Christian Streich's side squandered their one-goal and one-man advantage when Christopher Nkunku levelled the proceedings to take the game into extra-time, with Ermedin Demirovic and Christian Gunter's missed penalties proving crucial as Leipzig proved unflappable from the spot to lift their first ever major trophy.

Streich, who has been in charge of Freiburg since 2011, will have to pick his players up and go again, with a Europa League campaign to look forward to having secured an impressive sixth-placed finish in the Bundesliga last season.

An unbeaten pre-season period shows that they mean business once again, even if the £18m departure of Germany international Nico Schlotterbeck to Borussia Dortmund will heap the pressure on new signing Matthias Ginter in defence.

Kaiserslautern form (all competitions):

Freiburg pre-season form:

Team News

Kaiserslautern will be without forwards Ben Zolinski and Angelos Stavridis, who are recovering from knee and ankle injuries respectively.

Luthe and Durm have started both league games under Schuster so far, providing invaluable experience at the back, and they will be crucial cogs of any potential upset on Sunday.

Freiburg, meanwhile, will travel without forwards Kevin Schade and Lucas Holer due to abdominal and metatarsal injuries respectively.

Streich could name the same XI which drew 3-3 with Strasbourg in a recent friendly, meaning potential competitive debuts for Ginter, Ritsu Doan and Michael Gregoritsch.

Kaiserslautern possible starting lineup:

Lutche; Durm, Tomiak, Kraus, Zuck; Niehues, Ritter; Zimmer, Wunderlich, Hanslik; Boyd

Freiburg possible starting lineup:

Flekken; Kubler, Ginter, Lienhart, Gunter; Doan, Hofler, Eggestein, Grifo; Jeong, Gregoritsch

We say: Kaiserslautern 1-2 Freiburg

We expect to see an open, entertaining cup tie between two sides who should be full of confidence on Sunday.

Both are coming off the back of successful seasons, but the visitors should be a little too slick in transition for the hosts to deal with.

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