Goals from Michael Gregoritsch and Maximilian Eggestein took Freiburg to a 2-1 win at Bochum in the Bundesliga on Sunday ahead of next week's pivotal Europa League second leg at West Ham.
Fresh from scoring the only goal to give Freiburg a 1-0 advantage in their last-16 tie ahead of Thursday's return meeting in London, Gregoritsch's strike again proved the difference.
Eggestein gave the visitors the lead with a 36th-minute goal, blasting in a looping Gregoritsch header.
Gregoritsch headed an inch-perfect Ritsu Doan pass to double the visitors' lead early in the second half.
Ivan Ordets' header halved the deficit with just under half an hour remaining but it was not enough for the home side.
Bochum have now lost two in a row at home since beating Bayern Munich 3-2 in mid-February.
Freiburg, who sit eighth after the win, can qualify for the quarter-finals of the Europa League for the first time by avoiding defeat at West Ham.
Later on Sunday, Bayer Leverkusen can restore their lead atop the Bundesliga table to 10 points with a win over Wolfsburg.
Second-placed Bayern Munich narrowed the gap to seven points with their 8-1 win over Mainz on Saturday, with England striker Harry Kane hitting his fourth hat-trick of the season.
In Sunday's other match, Eintracht Frankfurt host Hoffenheim.
