Bundesliga Preview: Freiburg v Borussia Dortmund

Freiburg will need to arrest a pitiful run of results against Borussia Dortmund if they are to boost their hopes of avoiding the drop.

Christian Streich’s men are in danger of being relegated from the Bundesliga, sitting one place off the bottom but level on points with Hamburg and Stuttgart above them.

Sunday’s match will hold little cause for optimism, with the hosts having lost the last seven matches against Dortmund.

Indeed, Freiburg have not beaten Dortmund in the top flight since 2001, and not in a home league match since 1993.

The reverse fixture this season ended 5-0 to Jurgen Klopp’s side, who have picked up maximum points from their last three visits to the Mage Solar Stadion.

The visitors and can take a big step towards securing qualification for the UEFA Champions League with a win this weekend.

Bayer Leverkusen and Schalke beneath them have both faltered in recent weeks and, with leaders Bayern Munich proving irresistible this season, Dortmund are realistically playing for second place.

If they are to keep any sort of pressure on Bayern above and the chasing pack behind them on Sunday, they will likely need to do so without leading goalscorer Robert Lewandowski.

The Poland international, who leads the Bundesliga scoring charts with 15 goals, has a knee problem and Klopp admitted on Friday that it would be a “gamble” to play him.

His probable absence will be met with relief in the Freiburg ranks, as the Bayern-bound forward has 10 goals in the last seven meetings between Dortmund and Freiburg.

Dortmund will be buoyed by the dismal home record Freiburg have this season – picking up just 10 points from 11 games on home soil – while Klopp’s men have the second best away record in the division.

The visitors can add to the 20 points they have picked up on the road this season as Freiburg target a first home clean sheet of the Bundesliga campaign.

Streich has lost Vaclav Pilar (knee) and Sebastian Freis (abdominal muscle) to injuries this week.