Preview: Eintracht Frankfurt vs Freiburg - prediction, team news, lineups

WARNING: This article contains explicit content that may not be suitable for all readers.

Eintracht Frankfurt are in the middle of a media storm, but they will be looking to turn their attention back onto football when they welcome Freiburg to Deutsche Bank Park this Sunday afternoon.

Both teams are still in the race for the top six, but if they are to secure European football next season, they cannot afford too many more slip-ups.

Match preview

One of the big stories in German football this week concerns a rather preposterous beef between Eintracht Frankfurt’s social media team and former German international Max Kruse.

The 37-year-old made some critical comments about Frankfurt’s new head coach, Albert Riera, on his own podcast, Flatterball.

Riera was asked about the comments in his weekly press conference, though Frankfurt’s social media team appeared to take offence at the BILD journalists’ question.

Eintracht went on to post a shocking statement on the club’s official X account which said: “Let's agree that questions to our head coach in press conferences should not be based on opinions from a podcast in which one of the two hosts has already had his d**k circulating through the internet.”

Liebe @BILD_Eintracht,
lasst uns doch darauf einigen, dass sich Fragen an unseren Cheftrainer in Pressekonferenzen nicht auf Meinungen aus einem Podcast stützen sollten, in dem von einem der beiden Hosts bereits der Pe*** durchs Internet gegeistert ist. Alles andere wäre doch… https://t.co/DcmQHWKKkY
— Eintracht Frankfurt (@Eintracht) February 20, 2026

The comment refers to Kruse’s X-rated viral clip from 2016, though Frankfurt’s decision to mention the video on their official social media channel has caused a media storm in Germany.

Away from genital news, Sunday marks a huge game for Frankfurt, who are beginning to lose ground on the top six.

The Eagles have the second-worst defensive record in the Bundesliga and have only managed one win from their last nine outings in the competition - a run which has left them eight points adrift of European places.

Entering the weekend in seventh spot, Freiburg find themselves in a similar position to their rivals, with the club needing a good run of victories to close the gap to the top six.

Despite operating with limited resources, head coach Julian Schuster has earned a lot of praise for successfully balancing Bundesliga duties alongside a European campaign.

Freiburg have progressed to the round-of-16 of the Europa League for just the third time in their history, and they will now face a tie with Belgian outfit Genk in a couple of weeks.

While winning the competition may be a bit of a stretch for the Breisgau Brazilians, the club can still secure European football for next season with a top six finish.

Freiburg’s run of three wins from their previous five Bundesliga games has allowed them to keep pace with the likes of Bayer Leverkusen and RB Leipzig, though there is still a lot of work to do.

Schuster’s men are still six points adrift of those all-important European places, meaning a win on Sunday would greatly enhance their continental ambitions.

Eintracht Frankfurt Bundesliga form:

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Eintracht Frankfurt form (all competitions):

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Freiburg Bundesliga form:

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Freiburg form (all competitions):

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Team News

One of the reasons behind Eintracht Frankfurt’s recent dip in results has been their lengthy injury list.

The Eagles remain without Michy Batshuayi (metatarsal), Younes Ebnoutalib (knee), Ansgar Knauff (abdominal), Rasmus Kristensen (surgery), Arthur Theate (meniscus) and Can Uzun (muscular).

In more positive news for Frankfurt, Robin Koch appears to have overcome his illness and is expected to feature this weekend.

The club’s top scorer, Jonathan Burkardt, marked his return from injury last weekend by scoring in a 3-2 defeat to Bayern Munich. We expect the 25-year-old to start on Sunday.

When it comes to Freiburg, the visitors will be without the suspended duo of Jan-Niklas Beste and Johan Manzambi.

Lukas Kubler is out of action with a knee injury, Philipp Lienhart is still recovering from his abdominal problem, and Max Rosenfelder is dealing with a thigh issue.

Daniel-Kofi Kyereh continues to build his match fitness after missing three years of action with a torn cruciate ligament injury, meaning he is unlikely to feature.

Eintracht Frankfurt possible starting lineup:

Kaua Santos; Collins, Amenda, Koch, Brown; Larsson; Doan, Gotze; Kalimuendo, Burkardt, Bahoya

Freiburg possible starting lineup:

Atubolu; Treu, Ginter, Ogbus, Gunter; Eggestein, Osterhage; Scherhant, Suzuki, Grifo; Matanovic

We say: Eintracht Frankfurt 3-2 Freiburg

After giving Bayern Munich a run for their money last weekend, Eintracht Frankfurt will be determined to deliver another good performance against Freiburg.

The visitors have a dreadful away record, boasting just two wins from their last 10 matches on the road. With that in mind, we are backing Frankfurt to bag a narrow win.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.