Our next opponents: Freiburg well placed for Champions League

Position

The 2024/25 campaign has been a real mix for Freiburg fans. They sat in third place after five wins from their opening seven games but had dropped to ninth place after a 5-1 loss in Leverkusen just before Christmas. And after three (somewhat hefty) defeats in a row to kick off 2025, it looked like Julian Schuster’s side were in a downward spiral. That was until the division’s fifth-worst defence suddenly became watertight, with goalkeeper Noah Atubolu going 610 minutes without conceding over the following six games. With two goalless draws and four wins to nil, Freiburg found themselves up in fifth and hot on the heels of a Champions League spot once again.

Despite an impressive set of home results, back-to-back losses at the Europa-Park Stadion against Union Berlin (2-1) and Borussia Dortmund (4-1) again halted momentum. Four games in a row without a win saw those dreams of a maiden Champions League qualification start to fade once more as they fell to seventh place. But Freiburg have flipped the switch yet again and won their last three games, most recently claiming a 1-0 victory at 10-man Wolfsburg thanks to defender Max Rosenfelder’s maiden Bundesliga goal. Suddenly Schuster’s men are unbeaten in six on the road and in fourth place. “We want to get on a little run again. It’s about keeping at it, staying sharp,” said Rosenfelder after the most recent three points.

However, those words were uttered with a sense of caution. This isn’t the first time Freiburg have been in a promising position going into the final weeks, but in recent years they have often fallen just short of potential European qualification. After Sunday’s game against Bayer 04, they go to relegation-threatened Holstein Kiel before hosting third-placed Eintracht Frankfurt in what could be a final-day decider for a place in the Champions League. It’s getting really tight in the race for fourth place. Freiburg go into Matchday 32 as the incumbents on 51 points, but RB Leipzig (49), Borussia Dortmund (48) and Mainz (47) are all hot on their heels.

Personnel

Goalkeeper Atubolu returned to training last Wednesday for the first time since his shoulder injury in the 2-1 loss to Union a month ago. Florian Müller has deputised for the 22-year-old in the meantime and looked solid. There’s a chance Atubolu could be back in the squad on Sunday. Coach Schuster is also without long-term absentees Bruno Ogbus (Achilles tendon) and Daniel-Kofi Kyereh (cruciate ligament), but everyone else is available. Philipp Lienhart and Matthias Ginter are the usual first-choice pairing at centre-back, while youth products Rosenfelder and Jordy Makengo started at full-back last week. The more experienced Lukas Kübler and club captain Christian Günter are also options there. Maximilian Eggestein and Patrick Osterhage are the undisputed central midfielders.

Likewise, Ritsu Doan and Vincenzo Grifo are the wing duo of choice, with the pair the only players to have appeared in all 31 league games this season and also being the team’s best attacking outlets. Japan international Doan has nine goals and eight assists, while Italian Grifo has scored eight and set up 10. Schuster has been less consistent up front, with Lucas Höler, Junior Adamu, Michael Gregoritsch and 19-year-old Johan Manzambi all getting a chance. Former Heidenheim man Jan-Niklas Beste, who joined in January from Benfica, has been limited to only 11 substitute appearances, while the rapid Eren Dinkci has also had to settle for a place on the bench for the most part, although missed the Wolfsburg game with a muscular issue.

Problems

Although Freiburg’s total of 11 clean sheets (same as Augsburg) is among the best in the Bundesliga after Bayern Munich (14) and Leipzig (13), defence hasn’t always been their strong suit. There have been some heavy defeats, with five games alone against Dortmund (4-0 and 4-1), Leverkusen (5-1), Frankfurt (4-1) and VfB Stuttgart (4-0) accounting for 21 of the 47 goals they’ve conceded this season. And since they’ve only scored 44 goals themselves, Freiburg are the first team since Hertha Berlin in 1999/2000 to occupy the top four with a negative goal difference (-3) this late in the season. That occasional lack of defensive stability has been paired with poor finishing at the other end of the pitch. Set pieces, which have been one of the club’s strengths in recent years, have also been less fruitful this term, ranking 13th in the division with only 11 goals. Even penalties have proven an Achilles heel, failing to convert all four spot-kicks this season, with the last three failures coming from the boot of the usually reliable Grifo.

Performers

Greater intensity when working off the ball has been an element of Freiburg’s play this season. The forwards in particular put in a lot of effort to press high and early. It’s no surprise that Schuster’s side are among the Bundesliga’s hardest runners for ground covered. They are also a force in the air, with 11 headed goals ranking fourth in the division. If it weren’t for three missed penalties, Grifo would be in the top 10 for combined goals and assists this term, with his 10 provisions the same as Bayer 04’s Florian Wirtz to sit joint-second in that chart.