Preview: Freiburg vs Wolfsburg - prediction, team news, lineups

Fighting for survival in the Bundesliga, relegation-threatened Wolfsburg will travel to take on Europa League semi-finalists Freiburg at Europa-Park Stadion on Sunday.

Die Breisgau-Brasilianer are hoping to avoid a fourth consecutive defeat, while Die Wolfe are eyeing a second win in three games this weekend.

Match preview

Julian Schuster's Freiburg have missed out on reaching the top six in the German top flight, but they have still enjoyed an impressive campaign, and will come into this clash as favourites.

However, while Die Breisgau-Brasilianer delivered an impressive run of six wins in seven games between mid-March and mid-April, they have lost all three of their outings since downing bottom-of-the-table Heidenheim 2-1 two weeks ago - a result that required two deflected goals to secure.

Most recently, Schuster's side were beaten 2-1 by Portuguese club Braga in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final, following on from a 4-0 thrashing by Borussia Dortmund on April 26, three days after a 2-1 defeat against Stuttgart in the DFB-Pokal semi-final.

Returning to Bundesliga action this weekend, Freiburg sit eighth in the division, level on 43 points with seventh-placed Eintracht Frankfurt, and 12 points short of sixth-placed Bayer Leverkusen with just three games to play.

Hoping to finish the campaign in strong fashion regardless - and to end their losing streak - Die Breisgau-Brasilianer will draw confidence from the fact that they have won three of their last four home clashes across all competitions, losing just twice at Europa-Park Stadion since a 3-1 defeat against Augsburg back in August.

Meanwhile, this contest means more for Dieter Hecking's Wolfsburg, who are at serious risk of relegation to the 2.Bundesliga, and will be desperate to avoid being cut adrift of automatic safety on Sunday.

Die Wolfe are currently 17th in the league, and their tally of 25 points has them six behind 15th-placed Hamburger SV.

Given that there are only nine points left up for grabs this term, the White and Greens will be unable to escape the bottom three if HSV better their result.

However, Wolfsburg followed up April 18's 2-1 victory over Union Berlin with a 0-0 draw against Borussia Monchengladbach most recently, a stalemate that means the club have avoided defeat in back-to-back games for the first time since mid-January.

That feat - albeit a minor one - will give Hecking's side hope this weekend, as will the fact that the visitors have lost just two of their last five away outings, most recently collecting three points against Die Eisernen.

Should the worst happen, and the White and Greens be denied a chance at automatic safety, they will be eyeing a jump up to the relegation playoff spot, where St Pauli currently sit just one point ahead of Wolfsburg.

Freiburg Bundesliga form:

Freiburg form (all competitions):

Wolfsburg Bundesliga form:

Team News

Freiburg will be without centre-back Max Rosenfelder once again as he works his way back from the hamstring injury he picked up against Hoffenheim on Valentine's Day, so expect to see Bruno Ifechukwu Ogbus and Matthias Ginter at the heart of Schuster's defence.

Elsewhere, midfielder Patrick Osterhage is sidelined due to a knee injury, and while he is likely to return later this month, Maximilian Eggestein and Johan Manzambi look set to start in the centre of the park.

As for Wolfsburg, they have an extensive list of absentees to contend with this weekend, especially in defence, where they are missing right-back Kilian Fischer (groin) and left-back Rogerio (knee), as well as centre-backs Cleiton Santos (ankle) andJenson Seelt (knee).

Looking to fill the gaps, Hecking could opt for a trio of Jeanuel Belocian, Denis Vavro and Konstantinos Koulierakis in front of goalkeeper Kamil Grabara once again, with Joakim Maehle and Aaron Zehnter at wing-back.

Die Wolfe have similar issues in midfield, where they are without Mattias Svanberg (calf), as well as Maximilian Arnold, who is set to miss the final few games of the season due to a groin issue, and youngster Bence Dardai, who is recovering from a cruciate ligament injury.

With that in mind, Vinicius Souza should partner Christian Eriksen in the middle third, supporting Patrick Wimmer and Mohamed El Amine Amoura behind striker Dzenan Pejcinovic, who is set to start once again given that fellow centre-forward Jonas Wind will miss the rest of the campaign due to a thigh injury.

Freiburg possible starting lineup:

Atubolu; Kubler, Ginter, Ogbus, Makengo; Eggestein, Manzambi; Beste, Holer, Grifo; Matanovic

Wolfsburg possible starting lineup:

Grabara; Belocian, Vavro, Koulierakis; Maehle, Souza, Eriksen, Zehnter; Wimmer, Amoura; Pejcinovic

We say: Freiburg 1-1 Wolfsburg

Freiburg started April in strong fashion, but they ended the month with three consecutive defeats and head into this weekend's clash looking to bounce back.

However, they come up against a desperate Wolfsburg, who could come away with at least a point after surprisingly taking four from the last six on offer.

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