Freiburg vs Wolfsburg – News and Probable Lineups

Wolfsburg, who are battling against relegation, will visit Europa-Park Stadion to face Europa League semi-finalists Freiburg on Sunday.

While Die Breisgau-Brasilianer aim to break a trend of three successive losses, Die Wolfe hope to secure their second victory in three outings this weekend.

Match overview

Freiburg, managed by Julian Schuster, has narrowly missed out on a spot in the top six of the Bundesliga but has had a commendable season and enters this match as the favorite.

However, despite an impressive stretch of six wins in seven matches from mid-March to mid-April, Freiburg has stumbled in their last three games, including a 2-1 triumph against bottom-placed Heidenheim two weeks prior, which relied on two deflected goals.

Recently, Schuster’s squad fell 2-1 to Portuguese side Braga in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final, following a 4-0 defeat against Borussia Dortmund on April 26, just three days after a 2-1 loss to Stuttgart in the DFB-Pokal semi-final.

As they return to Bundesliga action, Freiburg is positioned eighth in the league, matching seventh-placed Eintracht Frankfurt with 43 points and trailing Bayer Leverkusen in sixth by 12 points with only three matches remaining.

Determined to finish the season strongly and break their losing streak, Die Breisgau-Brasilianer can take heart from the fact that they have won three of their past four home fixtures in all competitions and have lost just twice at Europa-Park Stadion since a 3-1 defeat to Augsburg last August.

On the other hand, this match is crucial for Wolfsburg, currently facing serious relegation threats, and they will be eager to avoid falling further behind in their quest for survival on Sunday.

Currently, Die Wolfe find themselves 17th in the league, sitting six points adrift of 15th-placed Hamburg SV with a total of 25 points.

With only nine points left to play for this season, they cannot escape the relegation zone if HSV achieves better results.

Nevertheless, Wolfsburg recently followed a 2-1 win over Union Berlin on April 18 with a 0-0 draw against Borussia Monchengladbach, marking their first consecutive games without defeat since mid-January.

This small achievement could provide some encouragement for Hecking’s team heading into the weekend, especially since the visitors have only lost two of their last five away matches, including a recent victory against Die Eisernen.

If the worst occurs and Wolfsburg cannot secure automatic safety, they will be keen to reach the relegation playoff spot, currently occupied by St Pauli, who are just one point ahead of them.

Team News

Freiburg will be missing centre-back Max Rosenfelder once more as he continues to recover from a hamstring injury suffered against Hoffenheim on Valentine’s Day, which means Bruno Ifechukwu Ogbus and Matthias Ginter will likely line up in defense.

Additionally, midfielder Patrick Osterhage is also sidelined due to a knee injury. Though he may make a return later this month, it appears Maximilian Eggestein and Johan Manzambi are set to feature in the midfield.

As for Wolfsburg, they are dealing with numerous absences this weekend, particularly in defense, missing right-back Kilian Fischer (groin), left-back Rogerio (knee), along with centre-backs Cleiton Santos (ankle) and Jenson Seelt (knee).

To fill these gaps, Hecking might opt for a defensive trio of Jeanuel Belocian, Denis Vavro, and Konstantinos Koulierakis in front of goalkeeper Kamil Grabara, with Joakim Maehle and Aaron Zehnter operating as wing-backs.

Die Wolfe face similar issues in midfield, lacking Mattias Svanberg (calf) and Maximilian Arnold, who is missing the remainder of the season due to a groin issue, as well as young talent Bence Dardai, out with a cruciate ligament injury.

Given these circumstances, Vinicius Souza is expected to partner Christian Eriksen in midfield, supporting Patrick Wimmer and Mohamed El Amine Amoura behind striker Dzenan Pejcinovic, who is likely to lead the line once more as fellow forward Jonas Wind is out for the season with a thigh injury.

Freiburg probable starting XI:

Wolfsburg probable starting XI:

Freiburg commenced April positively but ended the month with three losses in a row, heading into this weekend’s fixture determined to recover.

Conversely, they face a desperate Wolfsburg side, who could secure at least a point after surprisingly garnering four from the last six available.