Tayfun Korkut takes his side to the Mage Solar Stadion, on Sunday afternoon, aiming to get one over on Christian Streich's men in the final Bundesliga game of 2014.

Freiburg will be buoyed by Borussia Dortmund's 2-1 loss to Werder Bremen. Although they sit bottom of the table thanks to that result, it does mean that they can send Jürgen Klopp's men to eighteenth place and a win would see them jump into fourteenth. They fell to a 2-0 defeat to Bayern Munich during the week, but put up a credible fight.

While a loss would see them bottom come Christmas, a win would be the perfect early present for die Breisgauer. They haven't won in their last five games and will be keen to set that record straight. One quality you can always guarantee from Freiburg is that they'll give it their all, something that Christian Streich was keen to emphasise, "We're going to go into the game with courage and passion and we'll give everything for a positive result."

They'll have key players back for the final game of the year; Vladimir Darida, Jonathan Schmid and Mike Frantz, who missed the mid-week loss to Bayern, will return to the squad for Sunday's clash. Although Darida missed a penalty against Hamburger SV in the last home game, his influence is undeniable and will be a constant driving force all afternoon. Unfortunately Philipp Zulechner and Oliver Sorg won't play any part against Hannover, as both are injured.

Hannover travel south to try and end the Hinrunde on a high note. They currently sit in ninth and a win would bring them just a point behind Augsburg in sixth. If the side from Lower Saxony and Hoffenheim win their games tomorrow, there'll be just two points separating third to eighth place. A win against Augsburg managed to bring them right back into contention with the European chasing pack.

Tayfun Korkut said that, "A win in Freiburg would be the cherry on the cake." He isn't wrong. Hannover have really come together this season under the Turk and they look set to mount a real European challenge for the first time post-Mirko Slomka. Before a draw against Bremen and the win on Tuesday, the Lower Saxony club had lost four on the spin. A win on Sunday would banish that to the back of their minds and allow them to reflect on a successful Hinrunde campaign.

Christian Schulz will miss the game in Freiburg, although the scoring return of Salif Sané has soften the blow slightly. Other absentees are long-term injuries; Markus MillerAndre HoffmannLeon Andreasen and Artur Sobiech are still unavailable for the reds. Even with Schulz absent, Hannover should have enough to see themselves over the line and pick up another three points. However, on Matchday 17 last year, an Admir Mehmedi brace sealed a vital 2-1 win in similar circumstances for Sunday's hosts.

Predicted line-ups:

SC Freiburg: Bürki; Riether, Torrejon, Kempf, Günter; Klaus, Schuster, Höfler, Schmid; Darida; Mehmedi. (4-4-1-1)

Hannover 96: Zieler; Sakai, Marcelo, Sané, Albornoz; Schmiedebach, Hirsch; Briand, Stindl, Kiyotake; Joselu. (4-2-3-1)

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About the author
Jonathan Walsh
SoccerSight IFA commentator. VAVEL deputy editor-in-chief/VAVEL Bundesliga editor-in-chief and writer. Email: [email protected]