FC Cologne vs Wolfsburg Preview: Team News & Prediction

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Wolfsburg can move above FC Cologne with victory over Lukas Kwasniok’s side with only a point currently separating the two clubs.

Kick-off date/time:

How to watch on TV: UK – BBC Sport / US – ESPN

How to watch online: UK – BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport website / US – ESPN+

FC Cologne preview: Wins remain hard to come by

FC Cologne were desperate to prove that their victory over Mainz wasn’t a false dawn for a side who before then had gone eight Bundesliga games without a win. Unfortunately for them, Freiburg proved simply too strong for Lukas Kwasniok’s men last time out, sentencing Cologne to their ninth league defeat of the season so far.

Whilst they remain inside the top ten as it stands. FC Cologne remain rank outsiders for a European spot with them currently being 12 points behind sixth-placed Bayer Leverkusen, so a win here is hugely important.

Wolfsburg preview: Another mid-table struggle

Wolfsburg, like their opponents are currently firmly planted in the wasteland that is mid-table and until they can string a run of possibly results together, the chances of that changing is extremely unlikely as the prospect of playing in Europe next season fades.

Last time out, the visitors were on the road and beaten by Mainz in a game which saw their backline perform terribly in an awful 3-1 loss. Wolfsburg have now won just one of their last five league matches.

FC Cologne team news: Three injured

FC Cologne are without three players in Heintz, Hubers and Kilian and could also be missing Simpson-Pusey if he fails to recover from a muscle problem.

Predicted XI: (3-4-3): Schwabe; Sebulonsen, Martel, Van den Berg; Thielmann, Martel, Krauss, Maina; Bulter, Ache, El Mala

Unavailable: Heintz (Injured), Hubers (Injured), Kilian (Injured)

Questionable: Simpson-Pusey (Injured)

Wolfsburg team news: Doubts over a couple

Wolfsburg head coach Daniel Bauer faces an anxious wait over the fitness of both Koulierakis and Seelt, who are dealing with injury and illness respectively. Dardai, Maehle, Rogerio and Wind are all out.

Predicted XI: (4-2-3-1): Grabara; Kumbedi, Vavro, Jenz, Zehnter; Arnold, Gerhardt; Wimmer, Eriksen, Amoura; Pejcinovic

Unavailable: Dardai (Injured), Maehle (Injured), Rogerio (Injured), Wind (Injured)

Questionable: Koulierakis (Injured), Seelt (Illness)

FC Cologne vs Wolfsburg prediction

Confidence is unlikely to be high for either of these two teams heading into this match after last weekend’s results and also when considering how hard wins have been for both sides to find over the past few rounds of Bundesliga fixtures. The pair lack quality when it matters most and that has been clearly evident.

The big question here is whether either club will do enough to pick up three points in this encounter. Neither have shown that killer instinct of late that you need in the Bundesliga and recent results do not lie. Therefore, a shrewd move may well be to back this game finishing a draw.

FC Cologne vs Wolfsburg tip: Draw