Clash of overachievers at PreZero Arena

Third-placed Hoffenheim entertain fellow surprise packages Freiburg on matchday 22.

European hopefuls lock horns on matchday 22 as TSG Hoffenheim hope to put behind the heavy defeat in Bayern when they host Freiburg, who secured their cup semi-final spot in midweek.

Hoffenheim

Hoffenheim’s five-game winning streak came to an end in a harsh manner as they lost 5-1 away at league leaders Bayern Munich after going down to ten early in the match. Christian Ilzer’s side are still in third place as they’re enjoying a far better time in Bundesliga compared to last season’s relegation fight.

At least for the time being, they also managed to keep Andreas Schicker as the managing director. The 39-year-old will now remain at the helm after lots of talks about his sudden departure from the club. Hoffenheim’s next test on the pitch would be against a team they have failed to beat since 2021.

Team News

Wouter Burger will be back from suspension, while Kevin Akpoguma is absent after last week’s sending off. Tim Lemperle is not expected to be fit for Saturday’s clash.

Freiburg

Freiburg, who lost the DFB-Pokal final on penalties to RB Leipzig at Olympiastadion four years ago, progressed to the semi-final of this season’s competition by beating Hertha BSC in the same manner on Tuesday. The latest success meant they’re the only club to go that far in the cup in three of the past five seasons.

As for Bundesliga, Julian Schuster’s side secured a big win over Werder Bremen in Daniel Thioune’s debut in the opposite dugout. Jan-Niklas Beste’s sublime strike extended Freiburg’s unbeaten record at home to 14 games. That run includes a 1-1 draw with Hoffenheim in the reverse fixture on matchday five.

Team News

Freiburg are automatically through to the Round of 16 in the Europa League, which means they avoided a couple of Thursday games in a congested calendar for the modest squad. However, Schuster could still go with rotation after 120 minutes of action in the cup. Noah Atubolu will return in goal, while Johan Manzambi is suspended after his second red card of the campaign.

Predicted Lineups

Hoffenheim: Baumann ©; Coufal, Kabak, Hranac, Hajdari; Avdullahu; Prömel, Burger; Kramaric, Touré; Asllani

Freiburg: Atubolu; Treu, Ginter, Rosenfelder, Günter ©; Eggestein, Osterhage; Beste, Suzuki, Scherhant; Höler