The fixture comes at the end of the second of three consecutive midweek rounds. After Thursday’s 1-0 home win over Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Europa League, SC are back at the Europa-Park Stadion for their 29th competitive match of the season – a small advantage when it comes to recovery.

That recovery, said goalscorer Igor Matanović after the Tel Aviv game, is the immediate focus. “We know it won’t be easy against Köln, but we still have something to put right.” He and his teammates haven’t got fond memories of the first meeting with the promoted side, having suffered a 4-1 defeat at the RheinEnergieSTADION on matchday 2. “We don’t have much turnaround time, but we want to pick up points in the Bundesliga on Sunday as well,” added Maximilian Eggestein, who scored Freiburg’s only goal in Cologne.

Head coach Julian Schuster also pointed to the lessons from that game, and feels his team are well aware of Köln’s strengths: “They show again and again what they’re capable of, with the determination and physical presence they bring. They’re especially dangerous in transition.”

Freiburg head into matchday 19 in eighth place on 24 points, with Köln four points back in tenth. After a very strong start to the season, the Billy Goats remained winless in their final eight games of the first half of the campaign, before Lukas Kwasniok’s side ended that run last weekend with a 2-1 win over Mainz 05.

That victory, Schuster believes, will have given Effzeh renewed confidence – particularly with a full week to prepare for the trip to Freiburg. “It will be important to match them, especially in terms of energy,” said the SC coach. In that respect, the Europa League win over Tel Aviv also played its part. “Taking that feeling with us will help us on Sunday too.”

In Europe, Freiburg remain unbeaten and moved up to third place ahead of their final league-phase match next week away at Lille (Thursday, 29th January, 21:00 CET). Another point will be enough for Freiburg to secure direct qualification for the last 16 without the need for help from elsewhere.

Max Rosenfelder made his third Europa League appearance and his first start against Maccabi Tel Aviv. “That really pleased me,” said the centre-back, who could again feature from the outset against Köln, not least with Philipp Lienhart still sidelined by an abdominal muscle injury.

The 22-year-old had missed the reverse fixture in Cologne due to muscular problems. “As in every Bundesliga game, especially against Köln, it will be about intensity and duels,” Rosenfelder said. “But we also want to play well on the ball and make sure we keep the three points here.”

Photo: SC Freiburg