FC Koln will be desperate to secure their first league victory of the season when they host Borussia Monchengladbach on Sunday.

Gladbach, meanwhile, have won just once in the Bundesliga, meaning they will head into the weekend's action only two points clear of the relegation zone.

Match preview

Having enjoyed two relatively strong seasons under Steffen Baumgart's management - finishing seventh and 11th in the Bundesliga - it is somewhat surprising to see Koln rooted to the bottom of the table after seven matches.

The Billy Goats have collected just one point from seven matches, with the only time they have managed to avoid defeat coming in a 1-1 draw against Eintracht Frankfurt, who equalised with only three minutes of normal time remaining; four successive defeats have since followed for Baumgart's side.

However, it should not be forgotten that Koln have been one of Germany's chief "yo-yo" clubs in more recent times, with six relegations and six promotions between the top two tiers to their name since 1998.

As such, their fanbase are more than used to being involved in relegation battles, potentially hardening them to what appears likely to be a difficult season ahead of them. However, after beating SC Reusrath 15-0 in a friendly last week, Baumgart and his players will at least be a little more confident of finally ending their winless streak on Sunday.

After all, Gladbach provide very few reasons for opponents to fear them these days, having lost several key players during the summer transfer window to compound their slide down the table in recent seasons.

Indeed, two successive 10th-placed finishes represent a downturn for Die Fohlen, who had previously posted 10 consecutive top-half placements, including qualifying for the Champions League on four occasions.

Those days appear to be behind them for now, with Gerardo Seoane struggling to make a positive impact since replacing Daniel Farke as manager during the summer. Just one win from seven league games suggests they are more likely to be involved in a relegation battle than any European qualification chase.

That said, despite losing the likes of Marcus Thuram, Jonas Hofmann and Ramy Bensebaini for a collective pittance, Gladbach should still possess enough quality to secure a mid-table finish, with Sunday's trip to Cologne providing a decent opportunity to maintain some momentum after taking four points from their last two games.

Team News

Koln will be without Noah Katterbach, Mark Uth, Jan Thielmann and Jacob Christensen due to injury, with Baumgart likely to be pondering making some changes given his side's terrible run of form.

Benno Schmitz has recovered from a recent muscle strain and should slot into the hosts' defensive unit at right-back, with Baumgart potentially weighing up whether to use a defensive option in front of him in order to attempt to shore things up.

Gladbach, meanwhile, continue to have a host of availability issues, with Stefan Lainer, Jonas Wolf, Hannes Wolf and Yvandro Borges Sanches all ruled out of Sunday's trip to Cologne; Christoph Kramer, Tobias Sippel and Tony Jantschke are also all major doubts.

However, Julian Weigl should recover from a recent knee issue to be able to start in the visitors' engine room, with Seoane seemingly set to persist with his recently implemented 3-5-2 formation.

FC Koln possible starting lineup:
Schwabe; Schmitz, Hubers, Chabot, Paqarada; Huseinbasic, Martel; Alidou, Kainz, Ljubicic; Selke

Borussia Monchengladbach possible starting lineup:
Nicolas; Elvedi, Itakura, Wober; Honorat, Kone, Weigl, Neuhaus, Netz; Plea, Cvancara

We say: FC Koln 1-1 Borussia Monchengladbach

These two sides have registered just one league win between them so far this season, suggesting there could be a chronic lack of confidence on display at RheinEnergieStadion this weekend.

With every point collected crucial for both sets of managers and players even at this early stage of proceedings, we can envisage a low scoring draw.


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