The damage was done in the first 20 minutes of this game thanks to Grifo’s hat-trick, with Freiburg shifting down a couple of gears after the break to see the result over the line. That’s it for Bundesliga action this year – we’ll be back in January!

Both teams make two substitutions for the last few minutes. Union will no doubt be pleased to see the back of Grifo.

The ball is rolling again in Freiburg. No changes for the hosts but Union are going for damage limitation after taking off Becker and bringing on Jaeckel at the break.

You’ll be hard-pressed to find a more eventful opening to a game anywhere. Three goals, three penalties – two scored, one missed – a sending off all inside 20 minutes. Gregoritsch’s goal on the strike of half-time has made any Union hopes of a comeback all the more unlikely in the second half.

Never before in Bundesliga history have three penalties been awarded in the first 20 minutes of a game.

The visitors get the final Bundesliga game of 2022 up and running!

We're moments away from kick-off now as the players line-up to shake hands.

Christian Streich has also made two changes to his team following the defeat by Leipzig on Wednesday. Grifo returns to the line-up in place of Jeong, while Eggestein is given a breather in central midfield. He's replaced by Keitel, who makes his fourth start of the season.

The visitors have made two changes following their 2-2 draw with Augsburg in midweek: Trimmel comes in for Gießelmann, with Haraguchi replacing the suspended Khedira and making his first start in over a month.

Flekken - Kübler, Ginter, Lienhart - Sildillia, Keitel, Höfler, Günter (c) - Doan, Gregoritsch, Grifo

Uphoff, Schlotterbeck, Sallai, Jeong, Weißhaupt, Eggestein, Petersen, Schade, Höler

Grill - Doekhi, Knoche, Leite - Trimmel (c), Seguin, Haberer, Haraguchi, Ryerson - Becker, Behrens

Busk, Thorsby, Jaeckel, Michel, Gießelmann, Pantovic, Kemlein, Leweling, Jordan

Although Freiburg and Union have not exactly been goal-shy this season, the outcome of this match could be decided by the respective backlines. Only league-leaders Bayern have conceded less, while no other team in the top flight outside of the Bavarians and the two other high-flyers have shipped less than 20 goals. Union's 5-0 defeat at the hands of Bayer Leverkusen and Freiburg's loss by the same scoreline versus Bayern Munich are anomalies – neither team have otherwise conceded more than two times in a single match, and they have kept 13 league clean sheets between them.

These two sides have not met each other often – in fact, this will only be their 12th meeting. The 'Eisernen' have come out on top more frequently, winning five times to Freiburg's two. Union's 4-1 victory in May last season was emphatic, and came at a particularly inopportune moment for Freiburg. The humbling at the hands of the Urs Fischer and Co was one of their last two games of the campaign, both of which were lost, as they slipped out of the top four and ultimately finished in sixth, one spot behind Union.

Both teams have performed beyond even the wildest expectations of their supporters this term. On Matchday six, Union Berlin moved to the summit of the Bundesliga for the first time in their history, and stayed there until Matchday 13. Despite failing to win either of their previous two games, they sit second in the table, one place above Freiburg. The 'Breisgau Brasilianer' came within a whisker of Champions League qualification last season and also lost the DFB Pokal final on penalties, but instead of feeling sorry for themselves, they have pushed on this time around. Christian Streich's side have suffered only three defeats and look a good bet for a top-four spot come the end of the campaign.