On Wednesday evening, it was confirmed that five German teams would take part in next season’s Champions League. As Dortmund emerged victorious against Paris Saint-Germain, the team that finish eighth in the current Bundesliga campaign could still be in with a chance of qualifying for European football – that is, if Bayer Leverkusen lift the DFB-Pokal trophy with a win against 1. FC Kaiserslautern in the final on 25th May.

In Thursday’s pre-match press conference, head coach Christian Streich was hesitant to dwell on his side's chances ahead of the weekend’s clash. When questioned as to how Dortmund’s win has had an impact on his team, the 58-year-old provided a brief response: “It just means that more teams are now in the running.”

Switching things up in the middle

SC’s head coach will have some tough decisions to make with regards to his squad for Saturday’s meeting with Köln. Kiliann Sildillia is suspended for the remainder of the season after being handed a red card against VfL Wolfsburg, with Chicco Höfler also missing the weekend’s encounter due to suspension. “We’ll have to take a look at our tactics,” explained Streich. “We are, of course, slightly more limited than normal, especially now that we have fewer central defensive midfielders.”

This will open up the opportunity for defender Yannik Keitel to make an appearance in SCF’S midfield unit. “It’s a case of trial and error. You just have to do your best to put together a team that fills you with the most amount of confidence possible.”

Mixed feelings after the Wolfsburg game

With Keitel occupying the centre-back role, SC Freiburg put in a strong defensive performance against VfL last Saturday and hardly let anything through at the back, proven by the fact that both Wolfsburg goals came from hits from distance. “Sunday was highly disappointing,” reflected Streich. “It was extremely frustrating to watch the chances play out and observe the game as a whole."

“It’s important that the team don’t allow the game to knock their confidence. They did really well in possession,” Streich urged. “It’s always vital that you create your own chances in a game, which we did repeatedly.”

Incredible away support in Cologne

Freiburg will travel to the Rhineland along with 5,000 fans to face the 16th-place side, who will have one last chance to secure their spot in next season’s Bundesliga. “They simply have to beat us. The circumstances are dangerous for us, but at the same time, they’re the ones under pressure right now. A lot of emotion will be involved, and it will very loud at the ground,” remarked the head coach. “It’s vital that we pool our strengths against Köln.”

SCF have kept a clean sheet in their last three games against the Billy Goats, and securing their fourth would see Streich’s boys set two club records. If they can emerge victorious on Saturday, the side will tick off their first ever run of four consecutive league wins on the road, as well as their first streak of three clean sheets on the trot in Bundesliga action away from home.

Photo: SC Freiburg