Borussia Dortmund will aim to extend the recent unbeaten run when they take on Koln at the RheinEnergieStadion on Saturday.
The second half of the 2023/24 Bundesliga season will kick off on Saturday, with Friday’s game between FSV Mainz and Union Berlin postponed due to inclement weather. Matchday 18 will get underway with five simultaneous fixtures, one of which will see FC Koln welcoming Borussia Dortmund at the RheinEnergieStadion.
2023/24 has been a horrific season thus far for FC Koln. The Billy Goats are second from bottom in the Bundesliga standings, three points behind 15th-placed Union Berlin. The horrendous run cost Steffen Baumgart his job, with Timo Schultz replacing him this month. And they have won just one of their last nine games.
As for Borussia Dortmund, the Black and Whites have endured a sub-par campaign thus far. While they topped the Group of Death in the UEFA Champions League, Edin Terzic’s men are out of the DFB Pokal while sitting outside the top four in the Bundesliga. The visitors were on a six-game winless run before the winter break but bounced back well last week, beating Darmstadt 3-0.
The reverse fixture saw Borussia Dortmund clinch a 1-0 win over FC Koln, with Donyell Malen scoring the match-winner. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
1. FC Koln
Timo Schultz does not have many fitness concerns hampering his preparations ahead of his side’s latest fixture. Against Borussia Dortmund on Saturday, the FC Koln manager will be bereft of the services of three first-team players.
Davie Selke is the most notable absentee, with the German striker recovering from a foot injury. In addition, Mark Uth (knee) and Luca Waldschmidt (leg) remain in the treatment room ahead of Saturday’s game.
Former Borussia Dortmund attacker Steffen Tigges will fill Selke’s void this weekend, leading the line for FC Koln. Florian Kainz, Linton Maina, and Jan Thielmann will form the supporting cast for Tigges, with the trio looking to create overloads in the final third.
Denis Huseinbasic and Eric Martel will pair up in the double pivot, with the duo looking to keep things tight in the middle of the park. As for the defensive unit, there is no looking past Timo Hubers, Julian Chabot, Max Finkgrafe, and Rasmus Carstensen. Finally, Marvin Schwabe will take his spot between the sticks.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Schwabe; Carstensen, Hubers, Chabot, Finkgrafe; Huseinbasic, Martel; Maina, Thielmann, Kainz; Tigges
Borussia Dortmund
Unlike his counterpart in the FC Koln dugout, Edin Terzic has several roster issues to deal with ahead of the trip to the RheinEnergieStadion. The Borussia Dortmund manager might be without seven first-team players on Saturday.
Terzic is sweating over the availability of Mats Hummels and Marco Reus, with the German duo recovering from illness. Felix Nmecha (hip), Julian Ryerson (knee), and Karim Adeyemi (knee) remain on the sidelines.
Meanwhile, Sebastien Haller (Ivory Coast) and Ramy Bensebaini (Algeria) are on international duty, representing their respective national sides at the Africa Cup of Nations. The latter’s absence means Ian Maatsen should feature as the left-back.
Maatsen will likely join Nico Schlotterbeck, Emre Can, and Thomas Meunier in the backline. The defensive quartet will protect Gregor Kobel, who will take his usual spot between the sticks. As for the midfield unit, there is no looking past Marcel Sabitzer, Salih Ozcan, and Julian Brandt.
Ozcan will look to keep things tight in the middle of the park, while Sabitzer and Brandt will provide the forward thrust from the central areas. Finally, Niclas Fullkrug will spearhead the Borussia Dortmund attack against Koln, with Donyell Malen and Jamie Bynoe-Gittens completing the numbers in the offensive unit.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Kobel; Meunier, Can, Schlotterbeck, Maatsen; Sabitzer, Ozcan, Brandt; Malen, Fullkrug, Bynoe-Gittens
Key Stats
- FC Koln have lost only two of their last eight Bundesliga home games against Borussia Dortmund (W3 D3) and are unbeaten in the three most recent matches. Among all current Bundesliga teams, the Black and Whites are only winless on the road at Bayern Munich (9) than Koln.
- The first half of the 2023/24 season was FC Koln’s second-worst Bundesliga campaign ever. The only time the Billy Goats had fewer points after the first half of a term was in 2017/18 when they suffered relegation.
- The 3-0 win against Darmstadt last weekend ended Borussia Dortmund’s six-game winless run and earned them their first clean sheet in an away game this season.
- Borussia Dortmund have scored in 18 successive away games in the Bundesliga. The Black and Yellows last had a longer league run on the road between March 2012 and September (24).
- Eight Borussia Dortmund goals in the Bundesliga this season have come from substitutes, with no team having a bigger contribution.
Player to Watch
Jadon Sancho
After escaping his Manchester United horrors, Sancho made an immediate impact on his second debut for Borussia Dortmund by providing the assist for Marco Reus’s goal. The Black and Yellows only have the Englishman on loan until the end of the season.
But there is no reason why Borussia Dortmund cannot re-sign Sancho on a permanent deal in the summer transfer window. The 23-year-old needs to remain consistent and deliver the goods game after game for that to happen. Saturday’s match against the lowly FC Koln gives him the opportunity to build on a solid debut.
Prediction
1. FC Koln 0-2 Borussia Dortmund
Edin Terzic has yet to win a game at FC Koln, losing once and drawing once in his two trips thus far to Cologne. But with the Billy Goats struggling to impose themselves in the Bundesliga and Borussia Dortmund showing positive signs last weekend, the 41-year-old can break his duck at RheinEnergieStadion.
The Billy Goats have won points after going a goal down in their last three home meetings with Borussia Dortmund. But that will not be their fate on Saturday, with Terzic’s charges easing to a victory. The Hard Tackle predicts Borussia Dortmund to beat FC Koln 2-0 on Saturday, with Jadon Sancho delivering the goods.
