Mainz vs. Freiburg preview: European hopefuls lock horns after midweek exploits

Mainz vs. Freiburg preview: European hopefuls lock horns after midweek exploits

Mainz

Mainz come into the weekend having secured a fantastic 2-0 win against Strasbourg, with 90 minutes of football to go before Die Nullfünfer could label themselves Conference League semi-finalists.

Urs Fischer has done a fantastic job since taking the job earlier this season. Not only has he dragged Mainz away from relegation trouble, but he has them sitting not too far away from the European spots in the Bundesliga.

Fischer's side sit ninth in the standings with six matches to go - four points behind Sunday's opponents Freiburg, and after embarking on a six-match unbeaten run in the league, it would be too much of a stretch to see the club securing their second successive continental adventure come May.

Team news

On the injury front, things remain largely the same for Fischer, with the extended list of sidelined players further emphasising the quality of the job delivered.

Benedict Hollerbach remains out until the end of the season, while Maxim Dal, Robin Zentner, Stefan Bell, Anthony Caci and Andreas Hanche-Olsen are expected to return in the coming weeks.

Jae-Sung Lee will miss the coming matches with a broken toe, while Nadiem Amiri is a doubt.

A big blow for Mainz in recent weeks has been the injury to January arrival Silas, who will miss the remainder of the campaign with a broken ankle.

Predicted lineup - 3-5-2: Batz - Da Costa, Posch, Kohr - Widmer, Nebel, Sano, Kawasaki, Mwene - Tietz, Becker

Freiburg

Visitors, Freiburg make the trip to Rheinland-Pfalz, having also competed in Europe on Thursday.

Much like their Bundesliga counterparts, Die Breisgauer put one foot in the semi-finals, with a commanding 3-0 victory against La Liga outfit Celta Vigo.

Vincenzo Grifo would open the scoring with a beauty in the first half, before goals from Niklas Beste and Matthias Ginter sealed the deal on home soil.

Julian Schuster's side sit a place above Mainz in eighth, with the hope being that a strong end to the season could see Freiburg leapfrog Eintracht Frankfurt in seventh - a place that could potentially award a Europa League spot if the Bundesliga were to be awarded five places in the Champions League.

In the league, the southern club have been inconsistent as of late, with Freiburg going without successive wins since January, when they beat Hamburg after overcoming Wolfsburg before the winter break.

Similar to the hosts, Schuster's side are aiming to kickstart a run of form that would strengthen their continental chances before the end of the season, while there also has to be an eye on further progression in the Europa League.

Team news

For the visitors, things are much calmer on the injury front.

Max Rosenfelder remains out with a hamstring injury, but is expected to return in the coming weeks alongside long-term absentee Daniel-Kofi Kyereh.

Midfielder Patrick Osterhage continues to spend time on the sidelines, with it touch and go as to whether he will feature again before the season's end.

Predicted lineup - 4-2-3-1: Atubolu - Treu, Ginter, Lienhart, Günter - Eggestein, Manzambi - Beste, Höler, Scherhant - Matanovic