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

Fresh from ending their winless run in the Bundesliga, promoted side FC Koln will travel to take on European hopefuls Freiburg at Europa-Park Stadion on Sunday.

Die Breisgau-Brasilianer are looking to get back on track in the top flight this weekend, while the Billy Goats are dreaming of earning back-to-back victories for the first time since August.

Match preview

Julian Schuster's Freiburg finished fifth last season to qualify for the Europa League, but they are eight points short of reclaiming that spot in 2025-26 with 16 games to play.

Last Sunday, Die Breisgau-Brasilianer followed up a 2-0 loss against RB Leipzig with a 2-2 draw at Augsburg, a result made all the more concerning by the fact that relegation-battling Fuggerstadter took a two-goal lead.

Those disappointments left Schuster's team eighth in the Bundesliga, and meant that they missed out on the chance to capitalise when sixth-placed Bayer Leverkusen and fifth-placed Leipzig were beaten on matchday 18.

However, the hosts will be confident of returning to winning ways on Sunday considering their excellent record at Europa-Park, which features nine victories, three draws and just one defeat across all competitions this term.

Adding to that feeling will be the fact that Freiburg downed Maccabi Tel Aviv 1-0 in midweek, not to mention that Schuster's men are in commendable form overall, with three wins, one draw and one loss from their last five outings.

Meanwhile, Lukas Kwasniok's Koln kicked off their first campaign back in the Bundesliga with consecutive triumphs - including a 4-1 victory against Freiburg in late August - but the second-division champions won only two of the following 13 top-flight games.

Fortunately for the Billy Goats, they were able to get the better of Mainz 05 last Saturday, coming from behind to beat them 2-1 and end an eight-match winless run that featured five defeats.

Securing all three points for the first time since November 2 lifted Kwasniok's side up to 10th in the table, where their tally of 20 now sees the promoted club a more comfortable seven points above the relegation zone.

The visitors will head into this clash as the underdogs, but the travelling supporters will take heart from their team avoiding defeat in two of their last three away contests, though Koln have lost three of their most recent five on the road.

A away win on Sunday would move the Billy Goats to within one point of their opponents, but losing once again may have Kwasniok looking over his shoulder given that 14th-placed Werder Bremen are only two points behind his team.

Freiburg Bundesliga form:

Freiburg form (all competitions):

FC Koln Bundesliga form:

Team News

Freiburg have a relatively fit squad to choose from, though centre-back Philipp Lienhart is still a few weeks away from a return after suffering an abdominal injury earlier this month.

In the meantime, 20-year-old Bruno Ifechukwu Ogbus looks set to join Matthias Ginter at the heart of the hosts' defence this weekend, flanked by Lukas Kubler and Jordy Makengo at full-back.

Elsewhere, attacking midfielder Daniel-Kofi Kyereh returned to training as he closes in on a return to action having last made a competitive appearance for the club back in February 2023, but this game likely comes too soon for the Ghana star.

As for Koln, they are still in the midst of a defensive crisis, with centre-halves such as Luca Kilian and Timo Hubers out due to season-ending knee injuries, while Dominique Heintz, Jahmai Simpson-Pusey and Joel Schmied are dealing with medium-term issues.

If fans are looking for some light at the end of the tunnel, Heintz and Simpson-Pusey are likely to be available in the first half of February as they work their way into contention following respective groin and hip problems.

Similarly, Schmied is getting closer to a comeback after tearing his thigh muscle, but Sebastian Sebulonsen, Cenk Ozkacar and Rav van den Berg should start in Kwasniok's three-man backline on Sunday.

Freiburg possible starting lineup:

Atubolu; Kubler, Ginter, Ogbus, Makengo; Eggestein, Manzambi; Treu, Suzuki, Grifo; Matanovic

FC Koln possible starting lineup:

Schwabe; Sebulonsen, Van den Berg, Ozkacar; Thielmann, Martel, Kaminski, Castro-Montes; Maina, El Mala; Bulter

We say: Freiburg 2-1 FC Koln

Freiburg will be confident of getting back to winning ways on Sunday, and their impressive home record suggests that they are likely to collect all three points.

Koln have struggled in recent months, and they may walk away empty handed once again, but the visitors' victory last time out could inspire them to put up a fight.

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