SM
Bradford vs. Notts County: 10 hrs 58 mins
Upcoming predictions and previews
Collect News Data
KL
Bundesliga | Gameweek 32
May 9, 2021 at 12.30pm UK
RheinEnergieStadion
FL
FC Koln
1 - 4
Freiburg
Andersson (50')
Horn (37'), Andersson (47')
FT(HT: 0-2)
Petersen (18'), Demirovic (20'), Grifo (90+3'), Schmid (90+6')
Demirovic (41'), Lienhart (81')

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

:Headline: Preview: FC Koln vs. Freiburg - prediction, team news, lineups:
Sports Mole previews Sunday's Bundesliga clash between FC Koln and Freiburg, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Sports Mole

FC Koln take on Freiburg in the Bundesliga on Sunday, with the hosts in desperate need of a positive result to move outside of the automatic relegation zone.

Freiburg's 3-0 defeat to Hertha Berlin during the week saw Koln slide into 17th place at the expense of Hertha, with Freiburg's European ambitions all but ended as a result.


Match preview

Despite winning two of his three matches in charge since replacing Markus Gisdol last month, Friedhelm Funkel still has much work to do in order to guide Koln away from relegation.

While points on the board are always preferable at this stage of the season, Hertha's mounting games in hand due to their recent COVID-19 outbreak always looked a major concern to the sides around them in the table, including Koln.

Koln do play Hertha next weekend, however, before a final day home match against already-relegated Schalke 04, so Funkel appears to have both momentum and kinder fixtures on his side as he looks to pull off a great escape.

Having beaten title-chasing RB Leipzig in his second game of his second spell at the club, Funkel's side raced into a 3-0 lead at half time away to Augsburg last time out, with former Norwich City loanee Ondrej Duda scoring a brace.

The 67-year-old head coach may have been slightly concerned with the manner in which Koln nervily conceded two goals during a tense second half, but it was a crucial victory nonetheless ahead of three winnable matches as they bid to stay up.

Freiburg, meanwhile, secured their Bundesliga safety for a fifth successive season a long time ago, but appear to have run out of steam a little with Thursday's defeat to Hertha their fifth in their last eight matches.

Christian Streich's side looked capable of pushing for a European finish earlier in the campaign, but are now five points adrift of Borussia Monchengladbach in seventh place, which is likely to be the position required to qualify for next season's inaugural UEFA Europa Conference League.

Hertha, whose draw against Mainz on Monday was their first match in over three weeks, appeared to have more fight about them during the encounter, with Krzysztof Piatek firing in from a tight angle in the 13th minute before Peter Pekarik doubled the hosts' lead with a fine header nine minutes later.

Freiburg certainly had plenty of possession as they looked to get back into the game, with Nicolas Hofler going closest to pulling one back when his clever header was superbly saved by Alexander Schwolow after the break, but ultimately they fell short as Nemanja Radonjic wrapped up a crucial three points for his side late on.

Streich will be all too aware that his side are likely to face a similar type of match against another team scrapping for their lives in the shape of Koln on Sunday, with only securing a second consecutive top-half finish providing any motivation to him and his players in the final three matches of the season.

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

Freiburg Bundesliga form:
  • W
  • L
  • L
  • W
  • D
  • L



Team News

Koln could be without Jannes Horn, who incurred a groin injury last time out against Augsburg.

Noah Katterbach replaced the left-back after 65 minutes during that game and would likely do so from the start against Freiburg should Horn be unavailable.

Ismail Jakobs is also doubtful due to an ankle injury, but otherwise Funkel appears to have a clean bill of health to select from, so he could go with an unchanged XI from the win at Augsburg.

Streich, meanwhile, appears to be in the enviable position of having no injury or suspension issues to contend with for his side's trip to Cologne.

The 55-year-old is unlikely to have been too impressed with his side's performance levels against Hertha, though, with Vincenzo Grifo likely to replace either Lucas Holer or Ermedin Demirovic to provide more balance to the attack.

FC Koln possible starting lineup:
Horn; Schmitz, Bornauw, Czichos, Katterbach; Wolf, Skhiri, Hector, Duda, Kainz; Andersson

Freiburg possible starting lineup:
Muller; Lienhart, Schlotterbeck, Gulde; Schmid, Santamaria, Hofler, Gunter; Sallai, Demirovic, Grifo


We say: FC Koln 2-1 Freiburg

We expect Koln to win a third successive match ahead of their potentially decisive encounter with Hertha next weekend.

While Freiburg can still cause the hosts issues, they appear to be on the beach, with a mid-table finish guaranteed for them.



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




body check tags ::

Previews by email

Click here to get Sports Mole's daily email of previews and predictions for every major game!


amp_article__446375 : Collect and Make Data not in DataBase  : 
last updated article - 2021-05-07 17:49:48:
html db last update - 2021-05-07 09:32:07 :

ex - 7200 : read : write cache and make html
Read more!
Share this article now:

Subscribe to our newsletter


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!
Recommended Next on SM
Tuesday's Bundesliga predictions including Bayern Munich vs. Bayer Leverkusen
Premier League confirms Forest four-point deduction
Premier League Table
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
Scroll for more - Tap for full version

Subscribe to our newsletter


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.

history www

Premier League Team of the Season so far - Haaland, Rice, Van Dijk

1

PL

Lille's Yoro 'favours Real Madrid move over Man United, Chelsea'

2

LY

Lazio confirm Igor Tudor as new head coach after Maurizio Sarri exit

NEW

3

LC

Madrid could be first European F1 night race

4

MC

Tuesday's Transfer Talk Update: Yoro, Kimmich, Musiala

5

TT

Dame Laura Kenny announces retirement from cycling

6

DL

Arsenal, Liverpool, Man City 'in contention to sign Kimmich'

7

AL

Chelsea to miss out on Jamal Musiala windfall?

8

CT

Preview: Brann vs. Barcelona - prediction, team news, lineups

9

PB

Nottingham Forest 'handed four-point deduction for PSR breach'

10

NF


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .