SM
Man Utd vs. Chelsea: 1 day 1 hr 6 mins
Upcoming predictions and previews
Collect News Data
KL
Bundesliga | Gameweek 17
Jan 13, 2024 at 2.30pm UK
RheinEnergieStadion
H

FC Koln
1 - 1
Heidenheim

Selke (29')
Chabot (12'), Hubers (41'), Pentke (89')
FT(HT: 1-0)
Beck (55')
Pieringer (16')

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

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

FC Koln will be hoping to move outside of the automatic relegation places when they host Heidenheim in the Bundesliga on Saturday.

The visitors, meanwhile, won three matches in a row prior to the winter break to move into the top half of the table.


Match preview

Having won just two of their opening 16 league games this season, it was perhaps little surprise when Koln opted to part ways with Steffen Baumgart during the recent winter break. Successive 2-0 defeats to Freiburg and Union Berlin ultimately proved to be the final straw for the club's hierarchy.

Two strong seasons had bought Baumgart more time than perhaps he would otherwise have been given, meaning his replacement Timo Schultz needs to hit the ground running. The 46-year-old has previously managed St Pauli and Basel, but he only lasted 12 games at the latter after making a pretty poor start to his time in charge there earlier this season.

It is certainly a brave appointment by the Billy Goats in that regard, but they have clearly spotted something from Schultz's fledgling years as a manager that could make him a good fit at the club. Having only scored 10 goals so far this season - three fewer than any other team in the division - it is clear where Schultz needs to target making improvements.

While he will be hoping that comes from the outset against Heidenheim - who have the fourth worst defensive record in the Bundesliga so far this season - Schultz will be realistic that these things often take time. Given Koln's precarious position in the table, though, time is not a luxury on their side at this moment.

Heidenheim, on the other hand, could scarcely have imagined their debut Bundesliga season going any better at almost the halfway stage. They head into Saturday's encounter with double the points tally of Mainz 05, Koln and SV Darmstadt 98's inside the relegation spots, meaning that they are 10 points clear of danger.

Indeed, head coach Frank Schmidt and his players may have been gutted regarding the timing of the recent winter break given their excellent form heading into it. Heidenheim defeated Darmstadt, Mainz and Freiburg to jump above Wolfsburg into ninth position.

While their defensive record is far from watertight, only the top seven teams plus Borussia Monchengladbach have scored more goals than Schmidt's side so far this season. This has made them one of the most watchable teams in the division, especially given their tendency to give some of the bigger teams in Germany a bloody nose on more occasions than not.

However, Schmidt will not be counting any chickens just yet, as he will be aware that his side have much more work to do to ensure that their stay in the Bundesliga is not a brief one. Beating another struggling opponent on Saturday would certainly do wonders to strengthen their already healthy position in the table.

FC Koln Bundesliga form:

Heidenheim Bundesliga form:


Team News

Koln will remain without Leart Paqarada and Sargis Adamyan due to muscle injuries, while Mark Uth is out until at least late February due to a serious knee issue. Dejan Ljubicic's involvement could be doubtful due to illness.

Schultz may look to get club captain Florian Kainz immediately on side by naming the 31-year-old in his first starting XI, but David Selke should retain his spot in attack.

Heidenheim, meanwhile, will travel without Elidon Qenaj, Thomas Keller, and Denis Thomalla due to injury. Jan Schoppner has been struggling with an ankle issue, but the midfielder should overcome this to start.

Providing that is the case, Schmidt may choose to name an unchanged starting XI from the team which dispatched Freiburg 3-2 in their last match prior to the winter break. This would mean that Marvin Pieringer and Tim Kleindienst start as an attacking duo once again.


FC Koln possible starting lineup:
Schwabe; Cartsensen, Hubers, Chabot, Katterbach; Huseinbasic, Martel; Thielmann, Kainz, Maina; Selke

Heidenheim possible starting lineup:
Muller; Busch, Mainka, Gimber, Fohrenbach; Dinkci, Schoppner, Maloney, Beck; Pieringer, Kleindienst


We say: FC Koln 1-1 Heidenheim

Based on recent form, there would only be one winner in this match, but that could go out of the window to some extent given the gap between fixtures. Koln are also a relatively unknown entity given their change of managers.

We can envisage Schultz getting off to a decent start by avoiding defeat, but Heidenheim should have enough quality and confidence to return home with another point to add to their tally.



For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.


Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 2.5 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 2.5: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__533441 : Collect and Make Data not in DataBase  : 
last updated article - 2024-06-05 13:24:11:
html db last update - 2024-06-05 13:24:11 :

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


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
Wednesday's Bundesliga predictions including Wolfsburg vs. Bayern
Arsenal suffer major blow in title race as Isak fires Newcastle to crucial victory
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Hannover11713157822
2Fortuna DusseldorfDusseldorf116231712520
3SC PaderbornSC Paderborn105411813519
4Karlsruher SCKarlsruher115422219319
5Hamburger SV1053224131118
6Hertha Berlin105231916317
7Elversberg114431913616
8Nuremberg105142319416
9Magdeburg104421815316
10KaiserslauternKaiserslautern104331816215
11SV Darmstadt 98Darmstadt113442322113
12Greuther Furth113441822-413
13FC Koln103342220212
14Preussen Munster112451418-410
15SSV UlmUlm112361013-39
16Schalke 04Schalke112361924-59
17Eintracht BraunschweigBraunschweig102261123-128
18Jahn RegensburgJahn11218530-257
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


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

Saturday's Premier League predictions including Newcastle vs. Arsenal

1

SP

Real Madrid 'planning blockbuster move' for £109m-rated German superstar

2

RM

Team News: Spurs vs. Aston Villa injury, suspension list, predicted XIs

NEW

3

TN

Transfer blow: Chelsea 'suffer setback' in pursuit of Serie A star

NEW

4

TB

Saturday's La Liga predictions including Girona vs. Leganes

5

SL

Saturday's Major League Soccer predictions including Atlanta vs. Inter Miami

6

SM

Saturday's Serie A predictions including Monza vs. AC Milan

7

SS

Son? Van de Ven? Romero? Spurs team news for Aston Villa revealed

8

SV

Preview: Sparta vs. Utrecht - prediction, team news, lineups

9

PS

Reunion in Manchester: Amorim 'targeting' £33.5m-rated Sporting star for Man United

10

RI


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