Bayern Munich get the Bundesliga weekend underway when they travel to Europa-Park to face Freiburg on Friday night.
Ahead of a crucial clash with Lazio in Europe next midweek, Bayern must win to keep their fading hopes of the title alive.
Match preview
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Just days after announcing that manager Thomas Tuchel will leave at the end of the season, Bayern ended their dismal three-game losing run with a late win over RB Leipzig last weekend.
Facing difficult opponents, Bayern performed well despite needing a stoppage-time winner from Harry Kane, and getting over that obstacle could restore confidence ahead of a huge week for the club.
Going into the Leipzig clash, Bayern were 11 points adrift of Bayer Leverkusen, who had already beaten Mainz in the Friday fixture, but despite closing the gap by responding with that win, there is a growing sense Bayern's dominant run may be coming to an end.
This weekend provides the Bavarians with the chance to put the pressure on Leverkusen though, playing first in the Friday slot with the visit of Lazio coming on Tuesday.
Bayern must realistically win every game in both competitions for the rest of the season now if they are to salvage what has been a disastrous campaign by their standards, and even that might not be enough to retain the Bundesliga title.
If given the choice, Freiburg would probably have been one of the more favoured opponents Bayern could face next though, given their poor recent run.
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Despite fighting back from 2-0 down to beat Lens after extra time in the Europa League last week, Freiburg have been woeful domestically.
A 2-1 defeat at Augsburg last time out means that Christian Streich's men have taken just one point from a possible 15, resulting in a fall to ninth.
Results for Werder Bremen and Hoffenheim saw them both rise above Freiburg last weekend, as there is now a five-point gap to Eintracht Frankfurt in sixth.
Freiburg can be forgiven for focusing predominantly on their European run, and they gave their fans a night to remember against Lens just over a week ago.
Home form has been largely good in addition to that, losing just twice at Europa-Park in the league so far this season, but if they want to qualify directly for Europe again, Streich's men need more wins, and this would be another famous one.
Team News
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The return of Matthias Ginter in the past week has been a huge boost for Freiburg, and he is likely to start now given the injury suffered by Lukas Kubler last weekend.
That is likely to result in a change of shape, though, with Streich moving to a back three, and Ritsu Doan and Christian Gunter being utilised as wing-backs.
The host remains without the likes of Philipp Lienhart and Daniel-Kofi Kyereh though, with the latter still recovering from a torn ACL.
Bayern are likely to be without Leroy Sane as a precaution ahead of the Lazio game, as the wide man has been playing on with a patellar tendon issue over the last few weeks.
Keeping Sane fit for the Champions League clash will be important considering Kingsley Coman is out for another month at least with a knee injury, so Mathys Tel or Bryan Zaragoza are likely to start in his place here.
Matthijs de Ligt is suspended after being booked against Leipzig last week, while right-back duo Sacha Boey and Noussair Mazraoui are both suffering with hamstring problems currently.
Freiburg possible starting lineup:
Atubolu; Ginter, Hofler, Gulde; Doan, Kohl, Eggestein, Gunter; Sallai, Holer, Grifo
Bayern Munich possible starting lineup:
Neuer; Kimmich, Upamecano, Kim, Guerreiro; Pavlovic, Goretzka; Tel, Muller, Musiala; Kane
We say: Freiburg 1-3 Bayern Munich
While not wholly convincing, Bayern looked better against Leipzig and got an all-important three points to keep their title hopes alive for now by arresting a three-game losing run, and that return to form should continue.
Freiburg are in dire need of a domestic win to keep their own ambitions alive of qualifying for Europe, but a run of no wins at home to Bayern in nine years is unlikely going to end here.
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Andrew Delaney
