FC Koln welcome Union Berlin to the RheinEnergieStadion on Saturday afternoon for a hugely important bottom-half battle in the Bundesliga.
Union find themselves four points clear of the bottom three in 14th, while 12th-place Koln are three points ahead of Union.
The congested nature of the German top-flight means the result of this clash is likely to have a big say in how this season’s relegation battle pans out.
Koln were in excellent form before the campaign was put on hold, winning eight of their 11 games leading up to the break.
However, after failing to win any of their five games since the restart, Koln have slipped down the table and back into relegation danger.
Draws with Mainz, Fortuna Dusseldorf, and Augsburg have kept Koln afloat, although heavy defeats to Hoffenheim and RB Leipzig have exposed the team’s weaknesses.
Still, the visit of struggling Union provides Koln with the perfect opportunity to get their first win on the board since the season got back underway.
If you though Koln were on a bad run, spare a though for Union! The capital club have taken just two points from a possible 15 since the restart and have been in freefall.
After losing to Bayern Munich in their first game back, Union were humiliated by cross-city rivals Hertha with a 4-0 defeat in the Berlin derby.
Union have since secured two low-scoring draws against Mainz and Schalke, but a 4-1 defeat to Borussia Monchengladbach at the end of May proved there is still plenty of work to do.
Before the season was suspended, it looked as though Union would survive their first season back in the Bundesliga. But their wretched run since the restart has left them in a precarious position.
Union have actually beaten Koln in their previous two meetings. However, the overall head-to-head record in this fixture doesn’t look pretty for Union.
Koln have won six of their last nine games against Union, while scoring over 1.5 goals on every occasion.
Striker Simon Terodde is likely to be absent for Koln this weekend after sitting out of the previous game with a knee injury.
As for Union, Sebastian Polter is still suspended by the club due to internal issues, while Akaki Gogia will be hoping to return after spending almost all of the season on the sidelines.
It’s worth pointing out that both teams have scored in each of Koln’s previous seven Bundesliga games, so we are likely to see goals at both ends of the pitch on Saturday.
📚 A counter-attack straight out of the textbook! #FCUS04 | #fcunion | 1-1 pic.twitter.com/L13dhKxcTS— 1. FC Union Berlin (@fcunion_en) June 9, 2020
📚 A counter-attack straight out of the textbook! #FCUS04 | #fcunion | 1-1 pic.twitter.com/L13dhKxcTS
But perhaps more significantly, Union have been defeated by 2+ goals in their last four away matches in all competitions.
Taking these statistics into consideration, Forebet predicts that Koln will score over 2.5 goals on their way to victory, with Union also getting on the scoresheet.