Preview: Borussia Dortmund vs Freiburg - prediction, team news, lineups

Borussia Dortmund will be looking to officially guarantee Champions League football for next season when they welcome Freiburg to Signal Iduna Park this Sunday night.

Die Borussen are coming into this game on the back of successive Bundesliga defeats, while the visitors will be looking to shake off a disappointing loss in the DFB-Pokal semi-final.

Match preview

Pressure is cranking up on Borussia Dortmund head coach Niko Kovac following back-to-back Bundesliga losses - the same number of defeats the club had suffered in their previous 36 league games.

As recently as Easter, the Black and Yellows enjoyed an 11-point gap over the team in third, only for disappointing defeats to Bayer Leverkusen and Hoffenheim to leave them at serious risk of dropping down the standings in the final weeks of the season.

When it comes to qualifying for the Champions League, one more win will be enough for Die Borussen, though finishing any lower than second is not going to go down well with the club’s ambitious fans and hierarchy.

Dortmund’s sporting director, Lars Ricken, has already publicly challenged the team to play more attractive football, while also underlining a need for accelerated youth development.

Kovac has never lost three successive Bundesliga games while in charge of Dortmund, and the head coach will be determined to oversee a turnaround as we approach the season finale.

Freiburg’s hopes of domestic silverware this season were crushed following an extra-time defeat to Stuttgart in Thursday’s DFB-Pokal semi-final.

The Breisgau Brazilians, who won four straight games across all competitions before that cup heartbreak, still have a European semi-final on the horizon.

Julian Schuster and his men are preparing for a huge Europa League tie with Braga, starting this upcoming Thursday away in Portugal.

Winning the competition would give Freiburg automatic entry into the Champions League next season, which would mark a great reward for what has been a terrific campaign.

On top of their tremendous performances in the cup and continent, Freiburg are still battling for a top-seven finish in the Bundesliga.

Currently placed in seventh, the Breisgau Brazilians have a slender one-point advantage over Eintracht Frankfurt, and they could certainly do with a victory in order to build on that lead.

Borussia Dortmund Bundesliga form:

W W W W L L

Freiburg Bundesliga form:

D L W L W W

Freiburg form (all competitions):

L W W W W L

Team News

Borussia Dortmund head into Sunday’s fixture without forward Karim Adeyemi, who is dealing with a muscular injury.

Experienced midfielder Emre Can, who has only managed nine appearances this season, will also be on the sidelines with a knee problem.

Another experienced member of the squad, Niklas Sule, managed 42 minutes against Hoffenheim last weekend, but is now expected to return to the bench with a knee issue.

Struggling with the same injury, Felix Nmecha is set to sit out his fourth straight match.

Freiburg, on the other hand, will be missing midfielder Patrick Osterhage, who has been out of action since his two-minute contribution against St Pauli last March.

German defender Max Rosenfelder has been on the sidelines since February with a hamstring injury, and he is expected to remain in the physio room this weekend.

On top of that, there are injury doubts over Jordy Makengo and Philipp Treu.

Borussia Dortmund possible starting lineup:

Kobel; Anton, Schlotterbeck, Bensebaini; Ryerson, Bellingham, Sabitzer, Svensson; Beier, Brandt; Silva

Freiburg possible starting lineup:

Atubolu; Kubler, Ginter, Ogbus, Gunter; Eggestein, Manzambi; Beste, Suzuki, Scherhant; Holer