How does Cologne take on the role of favourites?
Cologne and coach Steffen Baumgart are still the talk of the town in footballing Germany. Many people look enviously at the cathedral city, which has gained a new “messiah” with the signing of the authentic and emotional football coach. From a purely sporting point of view, however, the question arises as to whether the continuing hype surrounding the former Paderborn player is at all justified?
With all due respect for their performances in recent weeks, the Rhinelanders have only two wins after six games. However, because the “Effzeh” are still in seventh place and are convincing with their courageous attacking football, it is quite understandable that the lower odds are being offered on a home victory in the match between Cologne and Fürth on Friday evening to kick off the seventh matchday in the Bundesliga.
Nevertheless, when predicting the outcome of the match between Cologne and Fürth, it is worth bearing in mind that the bottom team from Central Franconia put in a more than passable performance at home to the big FC Bayern exactly a week ago, but still ended up with empty points. If the Green-Whites can build on that performance, they can at least be expected to keep the match even for longer than various bookmakers with German licences currently assume.
Germany Cologne – Statistics & current form
1. FC Köln has made a promising start to the season. In terms of points, the cathedral cities are in a better position than they have been since 2016. Compared to then, when they finished in an outstanding fifth place at the end of the year, the Geißböcke currently have three points less on their account. This is partly due to the fact that coach Steffen Baumgart’s team recently had to settle for a draw three times in a row
However, because the opponents RB Leipzig, Eintracht Frankfurt and SC Freiburg were correspondingly complicated and the performances of the “Effzeh” in all three matches were absolutely right, they are anything but unhappy in Müngersdorf at the moment. Nevertheless, it must be the clear ambition of the seventh-placed team in the table to clinch a three-goal win against the bottom team on Friday evening.
Köln only with three goals in half time
Between Cologne and Fürth, a bet on a home win can be justified statistically in many respects. For example, the Rhinelanders have now won two of the last three matches against promoted teams. In addition, the cathedral cities are unbeatenfor four games on a Friday night (two wins, two draws). The record against the upcoming opponents from the south of the republic is also very good, which is underlined by the fact that the Geißböcke have not lost any of the last six direct duels against the Spielvereinigung.
To ensure a differentiated view, however, it should also be noted that, as mentioned at the beginning, “only” two victories were achieved after six matchdays. Even more interesting: Only once could the ranked seventh win the first half At home, they failed to do so despite two wins in three attempts against VfL Bochum and Hertha. Only 30% of all goals scored by the “Effzeh” were scored in the first 45 minutes. To keep up with this exciting statistic, it may make sense to place a bet between Cologne and Fürth that the visitors will not be behind at half-time.
Personnel-wise, things are looking rosy for Baumgart’s eleven. With the exception of youngster Thielmann, who is suffering from a stomach bug, all players are available. It is quite possible that the popular coach will go for an unconditional offensive. Even a starting eleven with Uth, Andersson and Modeste is within the realm of possibility. In central defence, Jorge Mere will get preference alongside Rafael Czichos.
Predicted line-up of Cologne:
T. Horn – Schmitz, Mere, Czichos, Hector – Skhiri, Kainz (Duda), Ljubicic – Uth, Andersson, Modeste
Last matches played by Köln:
Germany Fürth – Statistics & current form
Germany Fürth landed a respectable victory last Friday. Although there were many indications early on in the game that the team would lose at home to FC Bayern, the promoted team put up a good fight and at least earned a lot of praise from neutral observers.
However, as decent performances are not necessarily rewarded with points and collecting points in general has not been the Leitl team’s greatest strength so far this season, last year’s second-placed team in the second division currently occupies last place in the Bundesliga With a total of just one point and a goal difference of 4:16, the Green-Whites have set a negative record for a promoted team from the 1980/81 season (Arminia Bielefeld).
Fürth want to avoid another early deficit
From a statistical point of view, there is therefore a lack of arguments to make a prediction on a surprise coup for the Kleeblatt between Cologne and Fürth. After four defeats in a row, their form cannot be described as particularly good, not to mention the fact that they have conceded 16 of their 16 goals away from home.
In their analysis of the season so far, however, the coaching team must also have noticed that the Spielvereinigung were already behind at half-time in five out of six cases and thus usually lost their chances of a better result early on. This is exactly what we need to work on, which is why we assume that coach Stefan Leitl will perhaps choose a more defensive approach on Friday evening in order to keep the score at zero until the break. We believe that this can definitely succeed and therefore check the odds on double chance X/2 at half-time in the Cologne vs Fürth clash.
Due to injuries, only Gideon Jung and Jessic Ngankam are currently no options for the promoted team. Anyway, there are not many reasons to change the well-functioning starting eleven from the home match against Bayern at many positions. The 4-3-1-2 system with three flat sixes could also remain the same. Only goal-scorer Cedric Itten has possibly recommended himself for a start. However, creative player Nielsen or top scorer Hrogta would have to make way for him.
Predicted line-up of Fürth:
Burchert – Meyerhöfer, Bauer, Viergever, Willems – Green, Seguin, Griesbeck – Hrgota, Nielsen, Dudziak
Last matches played by Fürth:
Cologne – Fürth Direct comparison / H2H-Balance
This is the first time the two teams have faced each other in the country’s top division. So far, there have only been encounters in the 2. Liga as well as in the DFB Pokal. With nine wins, seven draws and only two defeats, the Rhinelanders clearly lead the direct comparison.
None of the last six games was lost by the “Effzeh”. But: Only two of these six duels were victorious for the cathedral city. At home, there has only been one Cologne victory after normal time in the past five encounters.
United Kingdom Cologne – Fürth United Kingdom Tip
The opening match of the seventh Bundesliga matchday will be between two teams that are likely to be differently satisfied with their performance so far this season. On the one hand, 1. FC Köln, who have made their best start since 2016 and are exceeding the expectations of many in seventh place. On the other side is Spielvereinigung Fürth, who have only managed to collect one point, have already conceded 16 goals and are therefore rightly in the red.
On paper, therefore, the matter is actually a clear-cut one in favour of Baumgart’s eleven. This is also underlined by the betting odds between Cologne and Fürth.
In our opinion, the bet between Cologne and Fürth is more interesting if the cloverleaf keeps the game open for a long time and is not yet behind at half-time. This is supported, for example, by the statistics that the home side has only led once before the break in the current season and has “only” managed two wins in six games. In addition, coach Leitl’s approach will be not to go into the dressing rooms trailing after conceding ten goals in the first half so far.
