Two clubs separated by just four points in the Bundesliga will clash this weekend as Hoffenheim travel to the RheinEnergieSTADION in a must-win game for them and Koln with the two scrapping it out for a place in Europe next season.
The battle for a place in the Europa League and the Champions League this season has been a topic of great discussion in the Bundesliga, with clubs as low as ninth in the table still in with a shout of ,making it there if they can pick up some decent form.
Koln, however, sit eighth with 36 points, and trail Hoffenheim by only four points and a win for them here would seriously ignite the race for the top six in Germany.
The Cologne side have had a topsy-turvy few weeks though. A 1-1 draw would come with bottom-placed Greuther Furth last time out, shortly after edging past Eintracht Frankfurt to keep them in eighth place.
Further losses to RB Leipzig and Bayern Munich have also come in 2022 for Koln, but with a 1-0 win over Freiburg there too, the club have shown they can compete with those further up the table and they can't be underestimated in the race for the Europa League.
As of now, Koln have won nine, drawn nine, and lost a further six games as they boast a goal difference record of 36 goals and 38 conceded, which all but sums up their season to date and why they have not quite got the fans believing they will end up in the top six come to May.
Hoffenheim are, however, on a three-game winning streak right now as they beat Arminia Bielefeld, Wolfsburg, and Stuttgart in February, which has now thrown them into the top six.
It also leaves Sebastian Hoeneß's men level on points with Freiburg and Leipzig, while trailing third-placed Bayer Leverkusen by only four points.
Hoffenheim have now won 12 games in the Bundesliga from 24 fixtures, but there does seem to be a trend of them winning a few games before losing some too, as the club's recent three-game winning streak did come after losing four in a row in Germany.
Koln have looked impressive in recent weeks besides the loss to Leipzig.
The games have seen few goals, with Koln staying relatively solid in defence, and Forebet predicts them to win here and for the game to see over 2.5 goals as the club edges closer to getting into the European spots.