Freiburg have two opportunities in the coming days to seal qualification for European competition next season. Before next Wednesday’s Europa League final against Aston Villa – with both the trophy and a place in the Champions League at stake – the battle for the Conference League play-off spot promises plenty of drama on the final weekend of the league campaign.

SC Freiburg head into the decisive round in seventh place, one point clear of both Frankfurt and Augsburg in the race for the final European berth. Victory over Ole Werner’s side would guarantee that they hold onto that position. The permutations become far more complicated in the event of a draw or defeat, however, with Freiburg then reliant on slip-ups elsewhere.

If Freiburg lose, Eintracht Frankfurt – who boast a superior goal difference – must lose to VfB Stuttgart, while Augsburg could pick up no more than a point against Union Berlin. Depending on the margin of a potential Freiburg defeat, the latter scenario could even require Union to claim all three points against FCA. Should Saturday’s clash at the Europa-Park Stadion end level, then draws in the other two fixtures would be enough for Freiburg to finish seventh.

That’s enough of the (slightly convoluted) numbers game. In practice, not even the Europa League final is part of Freiburg’s thinking right now. “At this point, we’ve got nothing other than Saturday’s game on our minds. We’ll do everything we can to secure seventh place,” Julian Schuster said at Thursday afternoon’s press conference, before adding in reference to his side’s slender advantage: “Having it in our own hands is a good position to be in – and a great achievement when you look at our schedule.”

From a personnel perspective, things continue to look positive ahead of the season finale, which will also be Freiburg’s 53rd competitive match of the campaign. That prompted the 41-year-old coach to praise his staff: “A huge compliment to everyone who has contributed to the fact that, in the middle of May, Yuito Suzuki is the only player currently unable to take part in team training.”

There will, however, be no grand farewells in front of the sold-out home crowd on Saturday, given the challenges that still lie ahead. What is already certain is that Nicolas Höfler, Maximilian Philipp and Daniel-Kofi Kyereh will no longer be part of the squad next season. All three will be honoured appropriately for their time at SC Freiburg following the European final in Istanbul.

Photo: SC Freiburg