The final game of the Bundesliga action on Saturday sees Hoffenheim hosting Freiburg at the PreZero Arena, with the outcome potentially proving pivotal in the race for continental qualification in Germany.
Despite nicking a late equaliser last weekend, the hosts extended their dreadful winless run, whilst the visitors were on the wrong end of a late equaliser in a thrilling draw themselves to see their top-four hopes suffer a blow.
Match preview
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Georginio Rutter was the hero for Hoffenheim when they drew 2-2 at Eintracht Frankfurt last Saturday, with the young forward netting within 11 minutes of his arrival off the bench to rescue a point in the second half.
Frankfurt's Evan N'Dicka had earlier netted a goal at either end in an opening 45 minutes that Sebastian Hoeness's side were fortunate to go in level, but despite a much-improved display in the second half, Hoffenheim had to settle for a point after failing to create many clear-cut opportunities in front of goal.
The draw means that Die Kraichgauer extended their run of games without a win in the Bundesliga to six matches, with the dip in form coming at the worst possible stage of the season for the European hopefuls.
Picking up just three points from the last 18 on offer have resulted in a slide down in the table, from fourth place back in early March, to eighth ahead of matchday 32 at the weekend.
With four points separating Hoeness's men from Union Berlin in the final continental qualification spot, it is likely that any further slip-ups will cost them a place in Europe next season.
A tough test awaits at the PreZero Arena in the form of Freiburg on Saturday, and with outings against third-placed Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Monchengladbach to follow in the final games of the campaign, an almighty improvement is required from Hoffenheim if they wish to make a late return to the top six in the closing weeks.
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Meanwhile, Freiburg's consistent form after the winter break has seen them maintain their remarkable push for not only the top six, but also the top four, in Germany's top flight.
Christian Streich's side continue to surprise many in every step of the campaign, with a first-ever qualification for next season's Champions League firmly in their sights.
Just two points are currently keeping Freiburg outside of the top four ahead of matchday 32, although Saturday's visitors could well have been level on points with fourth-placed RB Leipzig had they managed to see out the final few minutes of last weekend's encounter.
Having fallen behind to two early goals at home to Borussia Monchengladbach last Saturday, Freiburg looked dead and buried, but a remarkable turnaround after half time saw the surprise package take a 3-2 lead into the closing stages.
A penalty from Vincenzo Grifo started the revival just four minutes after the interval, before captain Christian Gunter levelled proceedings shortly after the hour mark.
The full-back then turned provider as his corner was met by Philipp Lienhart to complete the comeback 10 minutes from time, in what was a relentless 45 minutes from Streich's men, in which they displayed huge amounts of character for the Black Forest side.
However, Lars Stindl popped up for Die Fohlen in the third minute of stoppage time to break Freiburg's hearts, but despite the late setback, Saturday's visitors remain well in the mix for an incredible achievement come the end of the campaign.
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Team News
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Following his fifth yellow card of the season last time out, Stefan Posch will be missing from Hoffenheim's back line due to a one-match suspension on Saturday.
With fellow defender Kevin Akpoguma also struggling with the ankle injury that forced him off at half time in the draw at Frankfurt, Hoeness has limited options to choose from at the back.
Chris Richards, Benjamin Hubner, Ermin Bicakcic and Havard Nordtveit are all ruled out, whilst another defensive option Florian Grillitsch is labelled as a doubt due to a muscular problem, although right wing-back Pavel Kaderabek returns from a one-match ban.
Elsewhere, Marco John remains unavailable due to a shoulder injury, but Christoph Baumgartner's return from suspension is a welcome boost at the other end of the pitch.
As for the visitors, super-sub Nils Petersen remains a doubt to feature after missing out on the thrilling draw with Gladbach due to illness.
Kevin Schade and Yannik Keitel are ruled out through injury once more, and are joined on the sidelines by Noah Weisshaupt, who lasted just nine minutes following his arrival off the bench last week.
With the potential absence of Petersen once more, Streich must choose between Ermedin Demirovic and Lucas Holer to lead the line on Saturday, with the latter replacing the former at half time to contribute to last weekend's turnaround.
Hoffenheim possible starting lineup:
Baumann; Kaderabek, Vogt, Adams; Bebou, Samassekou, Stiller, Raum; Baumgartner; Kramaric, Rutter
Freiburg possible starting lineup:
Flekken; Kubler, Lienhart, N Schlotterbeck, Gunter; Eggestein, Hofler; Sallai, Jeong, Grifo; Holer
We say: Hoffenheim 1-1 Freiburg
With Freiburg tending to struggle more on their travels compared to their strength on home soil, we can see the visitors being held at their struggling hosts on Saturday.
On their day, these two sides are evenly matched and more than capable of qualifying for European football, but with the in-form side being the away team, and the hosts being in an end-of-season slump, we can see the two cancelling each other out in a tight affair.
Top tip
Matthew Tranter
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Hoffenheim win with a probability of 48.68%. A win for Freiburg had a probability of 27.87% and a draw had a probability of 23.4%.
The most likely scoreline for a Hoffenheim win was 2-1 with a probability of 9.49%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (8.5%) and 2-0 (7.45%). The likeliest Freiburg win was 1-2 (6.89%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (10.82%). The actual scoreline of 3-4 was predicted with a 0.5% likelihood.
