Heidenheim and Freiburg will both be aiming to maintain winning streaks when they meet each other in the Bundesliga on Wednesday evening.
The home side have won two matches in a row to move away from relegation danger, while Freiburg have put together three consecutive victories.
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Indeed, having secured their first-ever promotion to Germany's top flight in dramatic circumstances on the final day of last season, Heidenheim could scarcely have imagined sitting seven points clear of the bottom three after 15 games.
After their crucial 3-2 victory against fellow newly-promoted side SV Darmstadt 98, Frank Schmidt's side travelled to another relegation rival in the form of Mainz 05 with plenty of confidence in terms of recording a positive result.
That is exactly what they achieved, with Marvin Pieringer's 12th-minute strike proving to be the difference between the two sides. Despite being on the other end of 66% possession of the ball and 19 shots, Heidenheim managed to keep their first clean sheet away from home this season, taking all three points home with them as a result.
If they can sign off a historic calendar year for the club with another victory, Schmidt and his players would be in dreamland heading into the New Year. In fact, depending on results elsewhere, a win on Wednesday could see them head into the winter break within the top half of the table.
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Freiburg, meanwhile, find themselves in the exact same position which they have finished in each of the last two seasons: sixth. For a club of their standing, that should never be taken for granted, despite the immense progress which Christian Streich has instilled at the club.
For the second successive season, they will compete in the Europa League knockout stages after finishing second to the Europa Conference League holders West Ham United in Group A. Freiburg will face Lens, who dropped down from the Champions League, for a place in the last 16 after Monday's draw pitted the two clubs together.
Before then, Freiburg have six league matches to focus on, having collected maximum points from their last three games. Streich's side have found defensive solidity, keeping a clean sheet in all three victories. Towering centre-forward Michael Gregoritsch has rediscovered his goalscoring touch, having scored the winners against Mainz and Wolfsburg, before opening the scoring during a 2-0 win against FC Koln on Sunday.
Qualifying for the Europa League will undoubtedly be Streich and his players' primary aim for the campaign. Ending the calendar year with a win on Wednesday would guarantee that they head into 2024 occupying one of those two spots in the table.
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Heidenheim will remain without Omar Traore, Thomas Keller and Elidon Qenaj due to serious injuries. Denis Thomalla missed the victory against Mainz due to illness and is unlikely to be risked in midweek.
Having produced such a disciplined performance during that win, it would be a slight surprise if Schmidt opted to make any alterations to his starting XI. That would mean the likes of Kevin Sessa and Florian Pick being reduced to making an impact from the bench.
Freiburg, meanwhile, will travel without Philipp Lienhart, Kenneth Schmidt, Maximilian Philipp, Max Rosenfelder, Christian Gunter and Daniel-Kofi Kyereh due to injury. Streich will hope to have the majority of these players available once again when they return to first-team action in January.
Streich has only been able to name seven substitutes for his side's last three league games, but that has not stopped Freiburg from winning each match. He may consider making a few changes given the short turnaround between fixtures, including starting in-form Gregoritsch, but alterations are likely to be minimal.
Heidenheim possible starting lineup:
Muller; Busch, Mainka, Gimber, Fohrenbach; Dinkci, Schoppner, Maloney, Pieringer, Beste; Kleindienst
Freiburg possible starting lineup:
Atubolu; Sildillia, Ginter, Gulde, Makengo; Eggestein, Hofler; Doan, Sallai, Grifo; Gregoritsch
We say: Heidenheim 1-2 Freiburg
Both sides should head into this contest with plenty of confidence having put together winning runs. While Heidenheim still have plenty of work to do to secure safety, they are well ahead of schedule in that regard.
Freiburg, meanwhile, have moved back into the Europa League qualification places and will be determined to stay there during Christmas and the New Year. We expect them to gain a narrow victory on Wednesday to ensure that is the case.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Brett Curtis
