Set to move into a new stadium within a year, Germany international Nils Petersen and Freiburg have a pivotal campaign ahead of them in the 2019/20 season.

bundesliga.com takes a closer look at what to expect from the Black Forest side…

Aims in 2019/20

Historically seen as a yo-yo club, Freiburg are now heading into their fourth consecutive season of Bundesliga football. While the previous campaign was a little tight with a 15th-place finish, 2018/19 was just what the doctor ordered in the tranquillity of the Black Forest as Christian Streich’s side finished a comfortably 13th to ensure their top-flight status was never in doubt.

And that will be the aim once again in what is expected to be their final season at Schwarzwaldstadion, where Freiburg have called home since 1954. For a club with one of the smallest budgets in the Bundesliga, survival is the minimum aim but they have proven that Europe is a possibility, having qualified twice for the UEFA Europa League under Streich in the last seven seasons, with a year in Bundesliga 2 also sandwiched between.

The enigmatic Christian Streich is the Bundesliga’s longest-serving coach by some distance, heading into his eighth full season in charge of Freiburg. - 2018 Getty Images

Player to watch

Previously often used as a highly effective supersub, Nils Petersen took full advantage of a long-term injury to Florian Niederlechner in 2017/18 to establish himself as Freiburg's leading man and earn a place in Germany’s provisional 2018 FIFA World Cup squad. He was hampered slightly by injuries in 2018/19, and his team missed him. Freiburg failed to win any of the 10 games where Petersen was absent. If the 30-year-old can keep fit in the coming year, perhaps forming a partnership with young South Korean forward Wooyeong Jeong in place of the departed Niederlechner, his side could well be eying a top-half finish.

Watch: Petersen on becoming Freiburg's all-time top scorer

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Summer transfers

IN: Gian-Luca Itter (Wolfsburg), Wooyeong Jeong (Bayern Munich), Patick Kammerbauer (Holstein Kiel, end of loan), Changhoon Kwon (Dijon), Yoric Ravet (Grasshoppers Zurich, end of loan), Jonathan Schmid (Augsburg)

OUT: Christoph Daferner (Erzgebirge Aue, loan), Jonas Föhrenbach (Heidenhiem), Constantin Frommann (Sonnenhof Großaspach, loan), Vincenzo Grifo (Hoffenheim, end of loan), Alex Mendez (Ajax), Florian Niederlechner (Augsburg), Chima Okoroji (Regensburg, loan), Fabian Schleusener (Nuremberg), Keven Schlotterbeck (Union Berlin, loan), Vincent Sierro (Young Boys), Pascal Stenzel (VfB Stuttgart, loan)

How they might line up

- DFL

Stadium

Freiburg's Schwarzwaldstadion was opened in 1955 and underwent several reconstructions in the 1990s, increasing capacity in each of the terraces to its present limit of 24,000 (10,000 standing), making it one of the smallest in the Bundesliga. Nevertheless, the most recent census recorded Freiburg's population at just over 220,000, meaning one in every ten people is present at every home game. The club sold out 99.6 per cent of seats in 2018/19, which was second only to Bayern in the league.

Proud of its reputation as being Germany's greenest city, the stadium produces 250,000 kwh of electricity each year thanks to the solar panels installed on the roof. A new, larger arena (34,700 capacity) is to be even more environmentally friendly and is currently under construction. The aim is to move into the new ground by the 2020/21 season at the latest.

Watch: Freiburg – all you need to know!

First five fixtures

Matchday 1: Mainz (h) – Saturday, 17 August, 3.30pm CEST
Matchday 2: Paderborn (a) – Saturday, 24 August, 3.30pm CEST
Matchday 3: Cologne (h) – Saturday, 31 August, 3.30pm CEST
Matchday 4: Hoffenheim (a) – Sunday, 15 September, 3.30pm CEST
Matchday 5: Augsburg (h) – Saturday, 21 September, 3.30pm CEST

About the clubs

SC Freiburg

Europa-Park Stadion