Preview: Freiburg vs RB Leipzig - prediction, team news, lineups

Freiburg can guarantee their place in Europe next season with a win on Saturday at Europa-Park Stadion in the Bundesliga against visitors RB Leipzig.

The seventh-placed hosts have 44 points and are one point ahead of Eintracht Frankfurt in the Conference League spot, while Leipzig know that their current total of 65 points is already enough for third place.

Match preview

Freiburg lost 3-2 against newly-promoted Hamburger SV on Sunday, and they are now winless in three Bundesliga games, a period in which they conceded eight times, scored on just three occasions and lost twice.

The club have also been beaten in four of their past six matches in all competitions, with the team experiencing just one victory in that time.

Manager Julian Schuster can be forgiven if his attention was not on domestic football but on his side's Europa League final next week Wednesday, though their pathway into the Champions League via that competition is by no means certain given the immense quality of opponents Aston Villa.

Securing European football of any kind would represent a successful campaign from the hosts as it would allow them to compete on the continental stage for a fourth consecutive season, whereas they had only competed in Europe four times in the prior 27 seasons.

Europa-Park Stadion has been a fortress for Freiburg considering Breisgau-Brasilianer have only lost three of their 24 contests at the stadium in 2025-26, winning 16 of those clashes.

Leipzig claimed three points when they beat St Pauli 2-1 on May 9, winning for the sixth time in seven top-flight outings.

Die Roten Bullen did concede eight goals in those matches, though they did find the back of the net on 17 occasions, with the club netting three or more goals three times.

It is perhaps unfortunate that second-placed Borussia Dortmund and first-placed Bayern Munich have been so consistent given a tally of 68 points would be the club's best ever return in the Bundesliga.

Ole Werner oversaw a 2-0 triumph in January against Freiburg, and they are unbeaten in 12 meetings with their hosts in the Bundesliga, claiming three points in eight of those encounters.

Leipzig were beaten 4-1 by Bayer Leverkusen on May 2, but they had achieved victory in four of their prior five away games in the league.

Freiburg Bundesliga form:

Freiburg form (all competitions):

RB Leipzig Bundesliga form:

Team News

Freiburg only have two confirmed absentees ahead of the weekend, with Patrick Osterhage (knee) and number 10 Yuito Suzuki (broken collarbone) unavailable.

Maximilian Eggestein and Johan Manzambi can be expected to start in a double pivot, while Lucas Holer is set to earn a 26th start of the campaign, and he is likely to play behind number nine Igor Matanovic.

As for Leipzig, Saturday could be the farewell appearance of winger Yan Diomande, who reportedly has attracted interest from both Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain.

Veteran Willi Orban will form a partnership next to Castello Lukeba in the heart of defence, and the pair will be asked to shield shot-stopper Peter Gulacsi.

Midfielders Forzan Assan Ouedraogoo, Xaver Schlager and Christoph Baumgartner have been key to the strong form of Leipzig, and the trio will almost certainly feature together on the weekend.

Freiburg possible starting lineup:

Atubolu; Kubler, Ginter, Lienhart, Treu; Eggestein, Manzambi; Beste, Holer, Scherhant; Matanovic

RB Leipzig possible starting lineup:

Gulacsi; Baku, Orban, Lukeba, Raum; Ouedraogo, Schlager, Baumgartner; Diomande, Romulo, Nusa

We say: Freiburg 2-2 RB Leipzig

Freiburg will have to rely on the support from fans at Europa-Park Stadion if they are to get the better of the visitors on Saturday.

While the hosts' form at home has been strong, it is difficult to predict a win for them given Leipzig have been exceptional of late, so perhaps they will have to settle for a point.

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