Koln will welcome Freiburg to the RheinEnergieStadion this weekend in what is a clash that sees two of the Bundesliga's surprise packages meet in a crucial battle for either of them achieving European football at the end of the campaign.
Last campaign, Koln only avoided relegation by winning the relegation play-off battle with Holstein Kiel.
It subsequently kept them in the Bundesliga but they were also just two points ahead of Werder Bremen from finishing 17th. On the other hand, Freiburg had a decent campaign by ending up in 10th.
Now, however, the two are greatly improving on these positions and European football is still well within the aims for both sides as Freiburg currently sit in fifth while Koln are in eighth.
The home side here are only five points off the top four and should they win this game and RB Leipzig lose to Bayern Munich, Koln will be level on points with them in sixth.
Freiburg’s fifth-placed position in the table also leaves them just a point behind fellow surprise package, Union Berlin, who sit fourth, and there is a serious chance that Christian Streich’s men can make it into the Champions League for next season if they keep on plugging away.
They are also on a two-game winning streak and have bounced back significantly since losing 5-1 to Borussia Dortmund and a 4-1 win over Hoffenheim would come in the DFB-Pokal round of 16 followed by a convincing 2-0 victory over Stuttgart.
It now brings Freiburg onto nine wins and just five losses from their 20 league games, along with six more draws. What has been the most impressive part of their season, however, is their exceptional defence.
Ahead of travelling to Cologne, Breisgau-Brasilianer have conceded just 23 goals all season long, and only league leaders Bayern can boast fewer (19) than that figure, while it is the same as that of Leipzig.
As for Koln, the club haven't tasted victory since their excellent win over Hertha Berlin soon after the winter break, as they lost to Bayern 4-0, Hamburger CV on penalties in the DFB-Pokal, and then drew with Bochum soon after.
It still puts them with a decent record of seven wins and only five defeats, meaning only two more draws (8) is the difference between them and Freiburg right now.
With this in mind, it’s fair to say all signs point towards a very close fixture and Forebet predicts a draw here in a game that will see over 2.5 goals too.
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