Two sides who have had contrasting starts to the new Bundesliga campaign go head to head on Saturday as Koln play host to Hoffenheim at the RheinEnergieStadion.
While the home side have failed to taste victory in their opening three matches, Die Kraichgauer head into the weekend looking to make it three league wins on the bounce.
Match preview
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FC Koln picked up a morale-boosting result during the international break as they steamrolled German amateur side Bergisch Gladbach 6-0 in a friendly fixture on September 6.
In a one-sided affair at the BELKAW-Arena, Steffen Tigges, Faride Alidou, Damion Downs, Joao Pinto, Meiko Waschenbach and Julian Pauli all found the back of the net to cap off a superb team display.
Manager Steffen Baumgart will hope that the result can serve as a springboard for a fine run of form as Koln return to action in the Bundesliga, where they have failed to win any of their opening three matches.
Die GeiBbocke kicked off the German top-flight campaign with back-to-back defeats against Borussia Dortmund and Wolfsburg before playing out a 1-1 draw against Eintracht Frankfurt on September 3.
While Koln will be looking to pick up where they dropped off last time out, they have struggled for results on home turf, where they have managed just one win in their last eight league matches since late February.
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Elsewhere, Hoffenheim maintained their fine run of results during the international break as they came from behind to pick up a 3-1 victory over Swiss outfit FC Luzern on September 7.
After Kamal Ademi opened the scoring in the 29th minute to put the visitors in front, Die Kraichgauer upped the ante as Kevin Vogt, Mergim Berisha and Fin Ole Becker all found the target to turn the game on its head.
This was in keeping with their impressive performances in the Bundesliga, where they kicked off the season with a 2-1 loss against Freiburg on August 19 before claiming successive wins over Heidenheim and Wolfsburg respectively.
With the result against Luzern, Pellegrino Matarazzo's men have now won four of their five matches across all competitions this season, including a 4-1 victory over Lubeck in the DFB Pokal first round on August 14.
Next up for Hoffenheim is a journey to the RheinEnergieStadion, where they are unbeaten in each of their last six visits, claiming four wins and two draws since a 2-1 loss in the DFB Pokal in October 2016.
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Team News
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Koln will be without several key players down the spine of the team, including the midfield duo of Mathias Olesen (muscle) and Florian Dietz (knee), who continue their spells on the sidelines.
Veteran striker Mark Uth is yet to feature for Die GeiBbocke this season after picking up a hip problem in August's pre-season clash against Osnabruck, while Jan Thielmann is currently recuperating from a knee injury.
German defender Eric Martel is set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines after suffering an Achilles tendon injury while in action for the German Under-21s on Tuesday.
Like the hosts, Hoffenheim head into the weekend with a lengthy injury list as the likes of Robert Skov (calf), Maximilian Beier (knee) and Marco John (ankle) are all recuperating from injuries.
Bambase Conte has missed the last five matches due to fitness issues, while Dennis Geiger, has been out of action since picking up a muscle injury against Elversberg on July 12.
FC Koln possible starting lineup:
Schwaebe; Schmitz, Huebers, Chabot, Paqarada; Ljubicic, Martel; Carstensen, Kainz, Waldschmidt; Selke
Hoffenheim possible starting lineup:
Baumann; Kabak, Vogt, Brooks; Kaderabek, Skov, Proemel, Grillitsch; Kramaric, Weghorst, Beier
We say: FC Koln 1-2 Hoffenheim
Hoffenheim have flown out of the blocks this season and will be looking to pick up a fourth consecutive win across all competitions. Die Kraichgauer's record at the RheinEnergieStadion makes them slight favourites once again and we are backing them to snatch all three points once again.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Joshua Ojele
