MX23RW : Tuesday, March 19 02:39:09| >> :600:331062:331062:
[monks data]
Augsburg logo
Bundesliga | Gameweek 31
Apr 23, 2021 at 7.30pm UK
WWK Arena
Koln logo
Augsburg
2 - 3
FC Koln
Gumny (54'), Vargas (62')
Gumny (45+2'), Gruezo (52')
FT(HT: 0-3)
Duda (8', 33'), Kainz (23')
Wolf (45'), Rexhbecaj (80'), Duda (90')

Preview: Augsburg vs. FC Koln - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Friday's Bundesliga clash between Augsburg and FC Koln, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Augsburg take on FC Koln in the Bundesliga on Friday, with the visitors looking to build on their win against RB Leipzig in midweek as they attempt to escape from the relegation zone.

The home team, meanwhile, are not completely safe yet, but a win against Koln would ensure that they cannot be automatically relegated this season.


Match preview

FC Augsburg's Laszlo Benes celebrates scoring their first goal with teammates on March 6, 2021© Reuters

Augsburg may have considered themselves a little unfortunate to lose 2-0 to Eintracht Frankfurt in midweek, with Heiko Herrlich's side having plenty of chances to spring a surprise against Adi Hutter's high-flying outfit.

Marco Richter and Ruben Vargas both had three shots each across the 90 minutes, but were guilty of profligacy, as had been the case when Augsburg failed to score against Schalke 04 and Arminia Bielefeld in their previous two matches.

Frankfurt, ultimately, were the more ruthless side, with goals either side of half time from Martin Hinteregger and Andre Silva enough to move them up to third place in the table and keep them firmly in the box seat for a Champions League spot next season.

For Augsburg, a seven-point cushion above Hertha Berlin and Koln should already prove enough to see them compete in the Bundesliga for a 11th successive season, although Herrlich will be concerned that Hertha have two games in hand and counting after their recent COVID-19 outbreak.

Tuesday represents the perfect opportunity to at least put the automatic relegation places completely out of reach.

FC Koln players celebrate scoring against Union Berlin on November 22, 2020© Reuters

After a winless run of nine matches, Koln looked destined for their sixth relegation since the turn of the century, but they have kept their hopes of survival alive with a shock 2-1 win over Leipzig on Tuesday.

Julian Nagelsmann's side, whose title hopes were all but ended by the defeat, completely dominated the first half, but as has often been the case for them in recent weeks, they failed to find the important breakthrough.

Timo Horn produced the save of the match to deny Alexander Sorloth's powerful header a few minutes before half time.

Jonas Hector nodded home at the back post to open the scoring two minutes after the restart but saw Amadou Haidara cancel out his effort with a drilled shot from the edge of the box.

However, Hector was not to be denied being his side's matchwinner, charging into the box and firing past Peter Gulacsi less than two minutes later to move his side level on points with 16th-placed Hertha, who currently occupy the relegation playoff spot.

By and large, then, Koln's recently-appointed manager Friedhelm Funkel had his captain Hector and vice-captain Horn, who have both been fantastic servants at the club since 2012, to thank for the three points.

The duo's quality and character will almost certainly prove instrumental if Koln are to have any chance of producing a great escape between now and the end of the season, with recording successive wins against Augsburg on Friday potentially required if they are to realistically keep those dreams alive.

Augsburg Bundesliga form:
  • W
  • L
  • W
  • L
  • D
  • L

FC Koln Bundesliga form:
  • L
  • D
  • L
  • L
  • L
  • W



Team News

FC Augsburg's Laszlo Benes celebrates scoring their first goal with teammates on March 6, 2021© Reuters

Augsburg will be without the suspended Felix Uduokhai after the Germany defender picked up his fifth caution of the season during the defeat to Frankfurt, with Noah Sarenren Bazee and Tim Civeja ruled out through illness and injury respectively.

Herrlich is likely to revert to a back four and bring Vargas back into the starting XI, with Jeffrey Gouweleeuw partnering Reece Oxford or Marek Suchy at the heart of the defence.

The likes of Iago, Raphael Framberger and Andre Hahn could all be recalled, too, having been rested in midweek.

Koln, meanwhile, will also be deprived of a defender due to suspension after Kingsley Ehizibue picked up his fifth booking of the season against Leipzig. Benno Schmitz is his obvious replacement at right-back.

Otherwise, with Sebastian Andersson, Jan Thielmann and Ismail Jakobs all still out through injury, Funkel is likely to select an unchanged XI from the one which performed admirably to defeat the Bundesliga's second-placed club.

Augsburg possible starting lineup:
Gikiewicz; Framberger, Oxford, Gouweleeuw, Iago; Caligiuri, Gruezo, Khedira, Vargas; Richter, Hahn

FC Koln possible starting lineup:
T. Horn; Schmitz, Bornauw, Czichos, J. Horn; Wolf, Skhiri, Rexhbecaj, Hector, Drexler; Duda


SM words green background

We say: Augsburg 1-1 FC Koln

We can envisage a share of the spoils between two evenly-matched sides, which would represent a better result for the hosts than the visitors.

Indeed, Funkel's side surely require wins at this stage of the season, whereas a point for Augsburg would almost certainly prove enough to stave off any lingering fears they may have of being automatically relegated.



Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 1.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Over 1.5:data



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Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Augsburg win with a probability of 37.14%. A win for FC Koln had a probability of 36.11% and a draw had a probability of 26.7%.

The most likely scoreline for an Augsburg win was 1-0 with a probability of 10.08%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.15%) and 2-0 (6.47%). The likeliest FC Koln win was 0-1 (9.92%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.71%). The actual scoreline of 2-3 was predicted with a 2.2% likelihood.


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Game History

How you voted: Augsburg vs FC Koln

Augsburg
46.4%
Draw
29.5%
FC Koln
24.1%
112
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rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Bayer LeverkusenB. Leverkusen26224066184870
2Bayern MunichBayern26193478314760
3Stuttgart26182660312956
4Borussia DortmundDortmund26148453322150
5RB Leipzig26154760322849
6Eintracht FrankfurtFrankfurt26101064235740
7Augsburg269894342135
8Hoffenheim2696114450-633
9Freiburg2696113648-1233
10Werder Bremen2686123541-630
11Heidenheim2678113544-929
12Borussia MonchengladbachBorussia M'bach26610104650-428
13Union BerlinUnion Berlin2684142542-1728
14Wolfsburg2667133144-1325
15VfL BochumVfL Bochum26510113054-2425
16Mainz 05Mainz26310132246-2419
17FC Koln2639142047-2718
18SV Darmstadt 98Darmstadt2627172665-3913

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