FC Köln vs. Borussia Dortmund preview: BVB targeting consecutive victories
Borussia Dortmund will have the chance to claim a second straight win when they face FC Köln on Saturday.
FC Köln
After replacing Steffen Baumgart during the winter break, Timo Schultz began his Köln tenure with a 1-1 draw against Heidenheim. Davie Selke opened the scoring before Heidenheim’s Adrian Beck equalised in the 55th minute to ensure the spoils were shared.
Having failed to win any of their last four matches (D2, L2), die Geißböcke are languishing in the automatic relegation places with three points separating them from safety. Köln need to discover a cutting edge in the final third, having registered 11 goals in 17 league matches, making them the lowest scorers in the top flight.
While Köln have won just two league games this season, they may be able to draw inspiration from the fact they recorded a 2-0 victory in their most recent home game against Dortmund in October 2022.
Team News
Selke and Lucas Waldschmidt are both set for a spell on the sidelines due to foot and leg injuries respectively. The hosts are also without the services of Mark Uth, who remains sidelined with a foot problem.
Borussia Dortmund
After failing to win their final four league games of 2023, Dortmund kicked off the new year with a successful outing against Darmstadt. Julian Brandt found the net in the first period to give his side a narrow half-time lead. Jadon Sancho, who has returned to the club on a loan deal, came off the bench to set up Marco Reus in the 77th minute, before Youssoufa Moukoko rounded off the scoring in stoppage time.
While Dortmund remained in fifth position the 3-0 win moved them to within three points of fourth-placed Leipzig. If they are to close that gap and climb into the top four, Dortmund will be looking to find a consistent run of form over the next few months.
Although they have won their last two home meetings with Köln, die Schwarzgelben have failed to win any of their three away games against Saturday’s opponents (D2, L3). As a result, Dortmund are searching for their first away win over Köln since recording a 3-1 victory in August 2019.
Team News
Dortmund are unable to call upon Julian Ryerson, Felix Nmecha, Julien Duranville and Karim Adeyemi due to injury. Meanwhile, Algeria’s Ramy Bensebaini and Ivory Coast’s Sebastien Haller are currently representing their respective countries at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Terzic has also revealed that Mats Hummels and Marco Reus are both doubts due to illness.