FC Koln will be hosting Heidenheim this Saturday, with the hopes of moving outside of the automatic relegation places.
The visitors have been in excellent form, winning three matches in a row prior to the winter break, which has taken them into the top half of the table.
Match Preview
Koln have won just two of their opening 16 league games this season. As a result, Steffen Baumgart parted ways with the club during the recent winter break.
Two successive 2-0 defeats to Freiburg and Union Berlin proved to be the final straw for the club’s hierarchy.
The Billy Goats have appointed Timo Schultz as Baumgart’s replacement. The former St Pauli and Basel manager has two strong seasons under his belt but lasted only 12 games at Basel after a poor start to his time in charge earlier this season.
Schultz needs to hit the ground running as he aims to improve their meagre goal-scoring record of only 10 goals so far this season, three fewer than any other team in the division.
Heidenheim, on the other hand, has had a successful debut Bundesliga season so far. They are heading into Saturday’s encounter with double the points tally of Mainz 05, Koln, and SV Darmstadt 98’s inside the relegation spots, meaning that they are ten points clear of danger.
Head coach Frank Schmidt and his players may have been gutted regarding the timing of the recent winter break given their excellent form heading into it.
Heidenheim defeated Darmstadt, Mainz, and Freiburg to jump above Wolfsburg into ninth position.
While their defensive record is far from watertight, only the top seven teams plus Borussia Monchengladbach have scored more goals than Schmidt’s side so far this season.
This has made them one of the most watchable teams in the division, especially given their tendency to give some of the bigger teams in Germany a bloody nose on more occasions than not.
Team News
Koln will remain without Leart Paqarada and Sargis Adamyan due to muscle injuries, while Mark Uth is out until at least late February due to a serious knee issue.
Dejan Ljubicic’s involvement could be doubtful due to illness. Schultz may look to get club captain Florian Kainz immediately on side by naming the 31-year-old in his first starting XI, but David Selke should retain his spot in attack.
Heidenheim will travel without Elidon Qenaj, Thomas Keller, and Denis Thomalla due to injury. Jan Schoppner has been struggling with an ankle issue, but the midfielder should overcome this to start.
Providing that is the case, Schmidt may choose to name an unchanged starting XI from the team which dispatched Freiburg 3-2 in their last match prior to the winter break.
This would mean that Marvin Pieringer and Tim Kleindienst start as an attacking duo once again.
Possible Lineups
FC Koln possible starting lineup: (4-2-3-1)
Schwabe;
Cartsensen, Hubers, Chabot, Katterbach;
Huseinbasic, Martel;
Thielmann, Kainz, Maina;
Selke
Heidenheim possible starting lineup: (4-4-2)
Muller;
Busch, Mainka, Gimber, Fohrenbach;
Dinkci, Schoppner, Maloney, Beck;
Pieringer, Kleindienst
Prediction: FC Koln 1-1 Heidenheim
FC Koln and Heidenheim both have much to prove this weekend. Based on recent form, there would only be one winner in this match.
However, that could go out of the window to some extent given the gap between fixtures. Koln’s change of managers also makes them a relatively unknown entity.
Schultz should get off to a decent start by avoiding defeat, but Heidenheim should have enough quality and confidence to return home with another point to add to their tally.