Preview: FC Koln vs Freiburg - prediction, team news, lineups

Hoping to continue their strong start to life back in the Bundesliga, FC Koln are set to face Freiburg at RheinEnergieStadion on Sunday.

The Billy Goats will be aiming for back-to-back wins this weekend, while Breisgau-Brasilianer are looking for their first points of the season.

Match preview

Lukas Kwasniok's Koln won the 2. Bundesliga in 2024-25, and while their target for this campaign will be to simply survive in the top flight, their victory on matchday one has them feeling confident ahead of this clash.

Last Sunday, the Billy Goats took all three points in a 1-0 triumph on the road to Mainz 05, courtesy of a 90th-minute winner from Marius Bulter.

However, Kwasniok's side did benefit from a red card for Die Nullfunfer's Paul Nebel on the hour mark, and it remains to be seen whether they can repeat the feat 11 vs. 11 this weekend.

On the other hand, Koln have now avoided defeat in each of their last 10 matches, winning eight and drawing two, and circumstances aside, their resilience is impressive.

In any case, that win took the promoted club up to eighth place in the table, and another victory on Sunday could realistically lift them into the European places alongside the likes of Bayern Munich, Eintracht Frankfurt and Wolfsburg.

Meanwhile, Julian Schuster's Freiburg qualified for the Europa League's league phase by finishing fifth in the 2024-25 Bundesliga, and they will have their sights set on making the top six again at the very least.

That being said, Breisgau-Brasilianer began their campaign in disappointing fashion with defeat on matchday one, losing 3-1 on their own turf to Augsburg last weekend, a game in which they only scored their consolation goal from the penalty spot once Fuggerstadter had raced into a 3-0 lead.

In fairness to Schuster's men, the result could have panned out differently if Lucas Holer had managed to stay onside when he netted what would have been the opener in the 17th minute.

The loss has left Freiburg 15th in the top flight, though given that they share a tally of zero points with Bayer Leverkusen and RB Leipzig, fans should not be too worried at this stage.

A first win of the campaign could see the European hopefuls make the leap up to the top half ahead of ninth-placed Borussia Dortmund in a best-case scenario.

FC Koln Bundesliga form:

FC Koln form (all competitions):

Freiburg Bundesliga form:

Freiburg form (all competitions):

Team News

Koln have a generally fit squad ready for this weekend's clash, so expect to see Marius Bulter start up top once again, supported by Jan Thielmann and Jakub Kaminski.

At the opposite end of the pitch, a back three of Joel Schmied, Timo Hubers and Tom Krauss should line up in front of goalkeeper Marvin Schwabe.

As for Freiburg, they will be without midfielder Daniel-Kofi Kyereh for a few more weeks as he works his way back from injury, and Maximilian Eggestein will be joined by Johan Manzambi in the centre of the park, with Yuito Suzuki operating in an attacking midfield role behind the striker.

On the left flank, Breisgau-Brasilianer are missing both Jan-Niklas Beste and Philipp Treu, though Vincenzo Grifo is in line to start on the wing, while Christian Gunter should captain the side from left-back.

At centre-half, Max Rosenfelder is out with a hamstring injury, and Matthias Ginter is likely to start alongside Philipp Lienhart on Sunday.

FC Koln possible starting lineup:

Schwabe; Schmied, Hubers, Krauss, Sebulonsen; Johannesson, Martel, Lund; Thielmann, Kaminski; Bulter

Freiburg possible starting lineup:

Atubolu; Kubler, Ginter, Lienhart, Gunter, Eggestein, Manzambi; Dinkci, Suzuki, Grifo; Holer

We say: FC Koln 1-1 Freiburg

Koln may be a promoted team, but their resilience is well-established, and the confidence they earned from their opening day victory could help them frustrate their opponents.

Freiburg will be desperate to get off the mark this weekend, but they may have to settle for a single point on the road.

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