FC Koln and Wolfsburg are separated by just four points in the Bundesliga table ahead of their showdown at RheinEnergieStadion on Saturday afternoon.
Following a run of three losses in four games, the Wolves occupy seventh place in the standings, while the Billy Goats sit 12th – seven points clear of the bottom three.
Match preview
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FC Koln recorded their first loss of 2023 last weekend, suffering a disappointing 3-0 defeat to VfB Stuttgart, despite seeing the lion's share of the ball at Mercedes-Benz Arena.
Still, Steffen Baumgart's men will be confident of getting back on track this weekend, having enjoyed plenty of success since the turn of the year.
It is worth remembering that Koln returned from the winter break with a 7-1 victory over Werder Bremen, before holding Bayern Munich to a 1-1 draw at the Allianz Arena.
Following back-to-back draws with Schalke 04 and RB Leipzig, the Billy Goats extended their post-World Cup unbeaten run to five matches with a 3-0 win against Eintracht Frankfurt.
Despite suffering an unexpected defeat to Stuttgart last time out, Koln can take confidence from the fact that they have only lost two of their 10 home league games this season, conceding 10 goals in the process.
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When Wolfsburg chalked up a 10-game unbeaten streak between October and January – securing seven wins and three draws in the league – they looked destined to push for a European place.
Niko Kovac's side even managed to register six consecutive wins during that period, recording four victories prior to the winter break before scoring 11 goals across wins against SC Freiburg and Hertha Berlin.
However, the Wolves have taken a discernible turn for the worse since then, managing to collect just a solitary point from their previous four outings.
After suffering back-to-back losses against Werder Bremen and Bayern Munich, Wolfsburg were held to a goalless draw by bottom club Schalke 04, with a 3-0 home defeat to RB Leipzig coming last weekend.
It is also worth noting that Wolfsburg suffered a 4-2 loss to Koln in the reverse fixture back in September, so it will not be easy for Kovac's men to end their four-game winless run on Saturday.
Team News
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FC Koln currently have three players out due to serious knee injuries, with Sebastian Andersson, Florian Dietz and Dimitrios Limnios sidelined for the foreseeable future.
The defensive duo of Luca Kilian and Kristian Pedersen will also miss Saturday's clash with muscle injuries, while forward Mark Uth is expected to be absent following surgery.
Having bagged five goals and eight assists in all competitions this season, Florian Kainz will continue to support former Borussia Dortmund youngster Steffen Tigges in attack.
As for Wolfsburg, Sebastiaan Bornauw is suspended after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season last time out, with Maxence Lacroix expected to start at centre-back this weekend.
Jakub Kaminski and Kevin Paredes missed last weekend's defeat to RB Leipzig due to illness, so the young pair could be absent from Wolfsburg's matchday squad on Saturday.
FC Koln possible starting lineup:
Schwabe; Schmitz, Soldo, Chabot, Hector; Martel, Skhiri; Maina, Huseinbasic, Kainz; Tigges
Wolfsburg possible starting lineup:
Casteels; Baku, Lacroix, Van de Ven, Otavio; Arnold, Gerhardt; Waldschmidt, Nmecha, Wimmer; Wind
We say: FC Koln 2-1 Wolfsburg
FC Koln have suffered a solitary defeat in six games since the restart, picking up positive results against the likes of Bayern Munich, RB Leipzig and Eintracht Frankfurt, while Wolfsburg have lost three of their last four outings.
On top of that, Koln's recent record at RheinEnergieStadion is hugely impressive, so we expect the Billy Goats to edge out the Wolves on home soil.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ben Morris
