The German Bundesliga season resumes following the international break and on Friday the 15th of October with a meeting between 1899 Hoffenheim and 1. FC Köln.
The game will take place at the WIRSOL Rhein-Neckar-Arena, with the hosts sitting in 11th place on 8 points and the visitors in 6th place on 12 points.
Goalkeepers were hard at work today 💪🔥 #effzeh pic.twitter.com/op3IhorOzt— 1. FC Cologne (@fckoeln_en) October 12, 2021
Goalkeepers were hard at work today 💪🔥 #effzeh pic.twitter.com/op3IhorOzt
1899 Hoffenheim come into the match on the back of a 3-1 defeat at Stuttgart prior to the international break.
Stuttgart opened the scoring after 18 minutes and added two additional goals in the second half before 1899 Hoffenheim scored a consolation goal at the end of the game. That result means 1899 Hoffenheim have won only 1 of their last 6 Bundesliga fixtures.
The win came at home against Wolfsburg and was a good 3-1 victory, especially having gone behind in the first half. However, 1899 Hoffenheim have lost 3 of their last 5 league games, one of which was at home against Mainz.
Home form shows 1899 Hoffenheim are difficult to beat when playing at the WIRSOL Rhein-Neckar-Arena and they have lost only 1 of their last 7 home Bundesliga matches.
There have been plenty of goals scored and trends show 1899 Hoffenheim have seen both teams score in 5 of their last 6 Bundesliga matches on home soil.
1. FC Köln make the trip to the WIRSOL Rhein-Neckar-Arena having defeated Greuther Fürth 3-1 at home. It was a match they were expected to win against the team sitting bottom of the table and 1. FC Köln made no mistake despite being 1-0 down at half-time.
A strong second half performance saw 1. FC Köln score 3 goals without reply to take maximum points.
That result means 1. FC Köln are undefeated in each of their last 5 Bundesliga games and the only fixture they have lost in the league this season has come against defending champions, Bayern Munich.
Away from shows 1. FC Köln undefeated in their last 2 matches having picked up a point at both Freiburg and Eintracht Frankfurt. Both games ended in a 1-1 draw and that means 1. FC Köln have seen both teams score in all 3 of their away league matches this season.
In fact, both teams scored in all of 1.FC Köln's last 9 games in all competitions.
Looking ahead to the team news and 1899 Hoffenheim are without the injured trio of Ermin Bicakcic, Benjamin Hübner, and Christoph Baumgartner.
1. FC Köln also have three players on the treatment table, with Ellyes Skhiri, Jonas Hector, and Jannes-Kilian Horn all set to miss out.
This should be an extremely competitive game, with little to choose between the teams. 1. FC Köln have been tough to beat this season but struggle to win matches and could come away with a point, with both teams scoring.