Cologne vs Borussia Dortmund Preview: Team News & Prediction
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We have a Rhine derby to round off Saturday in the Bundesliga as Cologne take on Borussia Dortmund at the RheinEnergieStadion.
Kick-off date/time:
How to watch on TV: UK – Sky Sports / US – ESPN
How to watch online: UK – Sky Go / US – ESPN+
Cologne preview: Steady Koln
Cologne come into this one on the back of a 2-0 defeat away to Augsburg last weekend in their most recent outing, due to goals scored by Rodrigo Ribeiro and Alexis Claude-Maurice.
The home team, having returned to the Bundesliga last season, have been very solid as they sit firmly ensconced in the middle-of-the-table in the Bundesliga, albeit not too far clear points-wise of the danger zone.
Borussia Dortmund preview: Back to being very Dortmund
Borussia Dortmund recently endured a harrowing loss to Atalanta in the UEFA Champions League in typical Dortmund fashion, having been 2-0 up after the first-leg before conceding an extremely late strike in Bergamo.
They then put in another Dortmund-y performance in Der Klassiker last weekend as they succumbed to a 3-2 loss to Bayern Munich in a game in which they had taken the lead and also seemingly snatched a point late on before conceding once again.
Cologne team news: Defensive injuries
Cologne are dealing with significant defensive injury issues for this one as Luca Kilian is sidelined alongside Alessio Castro-Montes, Joel Schmeid and Sebastian Sebulonsen.
Predicted XI (3-5-2): Schwabe; Simpson-Pusey, Van den Berg, Ozkacar; Johannesson, Martel, Krauss, Kaminski, Lund; Ache, El Mala
Unavailable: Kilian (Injured), Castro-Montes (Injured), Sebulonsen (Injured), Schmeid (Injured), Thielmann (Injured), Hubers (Injured), Huseinbasic (Injured), Maina (Injured)
Questionable:
Borussia Dortmund team news: Can out
Emre Can is out of contract at Dortmund in the summer and he has now suffered an ACL injury, meaning he may well have played his last game for the club.
Predicted XI (3-4-2-1): Kobel; Reggiani, Anton, Bensebaini; Ryerson, Nmecha, Bellingham, Svensson; Brandt, Beier; Guirassy
Unavailable: Mane (Injured), Can (Injured)
Questionable: Sule (Injured), Chukwuemeka (Injured)
Cologne vs Borussia Dortmund prediction
Under the management of Niko Kovac, Borussia Dortmund have avoided falling into the trap of their previously unreliable and chaotic selves - until the crunch point in the last ten days or so. Up against mid-table opposition, if they retain their current level of performance then they will be expected to come out on top, albeit Cologne will likely be competitive with their home advantage on Saturday evening.
Cologne vs Borussia Dortmund tip: Borussia Dortmund to win & under 3.5 goals
