SC Freiburg vs Bayer Leverkusen Bundesliga Preview: Team News and Predicted Lineups

Match overview

SC Freiburg

Freiburg were destroyed in midweek against West Ham, despite winning the first leg 1-0. The match at the London Stadium ended 5-0 for the English side.

Contrastingly, in the Bundesliga, last time out Freiburg beat Bochum 2-1 in a tough fixture away from home. Michael Gregoritsch and Maximilian Eggestein scored the goals to clinch the victory, however the latter is out this weekend with suspension.

Vincenzo Grifo personifies reliability for the Bresigau side as he has seven goals and assists each in the Bundesliga this campaign.

The return of captain Christian Günter recently has reinvigorated Freiburg's season as positive results against Bayern Munich and Bochum in recent weeks can most definitely be attributed to him.

Last time against Bayer, Freiburg were beaten 2-1 thanks to a Florian Wirtz superb goal for the home side that day.

Bayer Leverkusen

Xabi Alonso's men came back in dramatic fashion following going 2-0 down in the first half against Qarabağ. They ended up winning 3-2 in extra-time thanks to a Patrik Schick double.

Whilst Amine Adli has been preferred in certain ties, it seems like Xabi Alonso will put faith in the in-form Patrik Schick for Sunday's clash (at least until Victor Boniface returns from injury).

Bayer Leverkusen need eighteen more points (an average of two per game) to clinch the Meisterschale regardless of what Bayern Munich do from now until the end of the Bundesliga season.

The head to head for the tie is relatively balanced, Bayer Leverkusen have won two of the last five and Freiburg have won the same amount. Only one draw has occured in the last five Bundesliga games between these two sides and this was in February 2023 (1-1).

Lastly, before Sunday's game, Bayer 04 coach Xabi Alonso said: "We don't want to relax, we want to keep going and bring the mentality to the pitch in every training session and every game. Freiburg is always a difficult opponent, but we want to extend our winning streak."

Team News

SC Freiburg

Kenneth Schmidt is still out with an abdominal injury and Daniel-Kofi Kyereh is also unavailable with a knee injury. Philipp Lienhart is also out with a groin problem and Maximilian Eggestein is out with a yellow card suspension.

Bayer Leverkusen

Victor Boniface is unfortunately still out with a groin injury, however his return is coming ever closer. Arthur has been out with a while with an injury, however he may make a return this week but remains a doubt.

Lastly, Jonas Hofmann is doubtful with a hip problem.

Predicted Lineups

SC Freiburg:

Atubolu; Sildillia, Ginter, Gulde; Kübler, Röhl, Höfler, Günter (c); Sallai, Höler, Grifo

Bayer Leverkusen:

Hrádecký (c); Kossounou, Tah, Hincapié; Frimpong, Palacios, Xhaka, Grimaldo; Hofmann, Wirtz; Schick