Freiburg take on Hertha Berlin in the Bundesliga on Sunday with the hosts looking for their third successive win in the space of a week.
Hertha, meanwhile, are unbeaten in their last four matches, but will be looking for a win to overtake their opponents in the table.
Match preview
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Having failed to win any of their previous 10 league matches, Freiburg fans would have been concerned about their team's gradual slide towards the relegation places.
However, two 2-0 wins against sides in the bottom three - Arminia Bielefeld on Saturday and Schalke 04 on Wednesday - have arrested any fears of joining them any time soon, with a seven-point gap now opened up to Arminia in the relegation playoff position.
However, Christian Streich will be imploring his players not to rest on their laurels, with ending the calendar year in a top-half position a possibility if they can beat Hertha on Sunday.
With Roland Sallai seemingly back in form after bagging a brace in the win at Schalke, their chances of doing so have certainly increased, with the Hungary winger providing the pace and penetration which Streich's side have lacked in some matches this season.
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Hertha, meanwhile, were beginning to look over their shoulders, too, after taking just four points from seven matches at one point in the campaign.
However, an impressive 0-0 draw at league leaders Bayer Leverkusen was backed up by a crucial derby win over Union Berlin as well as another unexpected point at Borussia Monchengladbach.
Despite building a small unbeaten run, Bruno Labbadia will have been disappointed with his side only drawing 0-0 at home to struggling Mainz 05 on Tuesday, though. It was a truly dire game, too, with zero shots on target from either side.
Hertha struggled to break down the disciplined visitors, who did not even start their top goalscorer Jean-Phillipe Mateta. After conceding 18 goals in their first eight league matches, Labbadia has clearly successfully tightened the defence, but is understandably struggling to find the right balance with the goals drying up since.
Freiburg Bundesliga form: LLDDWW
Hertha Berlin Bundesliga form: WLDWDD
Team News
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Freiburg are without Mark Flekken and Janik Haberer due to injury, with Kwon Chang-hoon unavailable due to coronavirus.
Lucas Holer will be hoping to return to the starting XI having only been used from the substitutes' bench in Wednesday's win at Schalke, with Sallai likely to keep his place after a match-winning performance.
Hertha remain without summer signing Jhon Cordoba with a ligament injury, while Santiago Ascacibar is also still on the sidelines with a muscle problem.
Peter Pekarik, Vladimir Darida and Dodi Lukebakio are likely to return to the side having been rested in the midweek stalemate with Mainz.
Freiburg possible starting lineup:
Muller; Lienhart, Schlotterbeck, Gulde; Schmid, Santamaria, Hofler, Gunter; Sallai, Holer, Grifo
Hertha Berlin possible starting lineup:
Schwolow; Pekarik, Boyata, Torunarigha, Plattenhardt; Stark, Guendouzi; Lukebakio, Darida, Cunha; Piatek
We say: Freiburg 1-1 Hertha Berlin
There is little doubt that Hertha possess the greater offensive quality, but they often struggle against disciplined defensive units such as Freiburg.
With both sides currently four games unbeaten, we can envisage both managers being content with avoiding defeat ahead of the winter break.
Top betting tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Freiburg win with a probability of 42.3%. A win for Hertha Berlin had a probability of 33.01% and a draw had a probability of 24.7%.
The most likely scoreline for a Freiburg win was 2-1 with a probability of 8.94%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (8.62%) and 2-0 (6.67%). The likeliest Hertha Berlin win was 1-2 (7.74%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.55%). The actual scoreline of 4-1 was predicted with a 1.8% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Freiburg would win this match.
