Wolfsburg vs. FC Köln preview: Can the visitors remain unbeaten?
Wolfsburg will look to clinch their first victory of the season when they play host to a FC Köln side who are yet to lose in the Bundesliga this term.
| Steffen Baumgart. |
Wolfsburg
Niko Kovac is still searching for the first win of his Wolfsburg tenure after beginning the season with two points from four matches.
Wolfsburg opened the campaign with a 2-2 draw against Wolfsburg, but they have failed to score since that contest, with their last three matches resulting in 2-0 defeats to Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig and a goalless draw at home to newly-promoted Schalke.
They fell behind in the fifth minute of last weekend's away meeting with Leipzg following Christopher Nkunku's fifth-minute penalty, and although they remained competitive in the contest, Wolfsburg were unable to find an elusive equaliser before Nkunku grabbed a second goal in the 90th minute to condemn Kovac's side to their second defeat of the season.
As a result of their joint-worst start to a Bundesliga season, Wolfsburg currently occupy 15th place. With a win required this weekend, the hosts can take confidence from the fact that they have won six of their last nine Bundesliga home meetings with Köln.
Team News
The hosts are unable to call upon the services of Patrick Wimmer, Jonas Wind, Yannick Gerhardt, Jerome Roussillon and Kevin Paredes, who are all ruled out with injury issues.
FC Köln
While their opponents have played five competitive games this term, Köln have already competed in seven encounters as a result of their participation in the Europa Conference League playoffs.
Köln have an opening group game against Nice to look forward to on Thursday, but first, they must focus on Saturday's league meeting with Wolfsburg.
After beginning the league campaign with a 3-1 victory over Schalke, Steffen Baumgart's side have played out three consecutive draws in the Bundesliga, including a goalless encounter against Stuttgart last weekend.
They may be unbeaten in the Bundesliga, but Baumgart will hope a meeting with a struggling Wolfsburg side presents Köln with the chance to claim their second league win of the season.
The visitors will at least be confident of finding the net after scoring in 13 of their previous 14 away games in the top-flight, while they have the chance to claim consecutive away victories in all competitions after beating Fehervar in the Europa Conference League in their most recent away contest.
Team News
Ankle injuries will prevent Benno Schmitz, Julian Chabot and Mathias Olesen from featuring for the visitors, while Eric Martel and Mark Uth will also miss out.