Another very interesting matchup on which we have decided to put our full attention at will take place on Wednesday between the only team that has recorded all four losses so far, FC Koln, and their counterparts from Frankfurt, the team whose form is not far away from being categorized as poor too.
Rounds that are scheduled to be played during midweek reminds as of the European team competitions play and they often come as a surprise because we are not accustomed to seeing our favorite teams lock horns with their national league horns on any other days except weekends but as we have mentioned before, the Soccer World Cup is set to take place next summer in Russia, and all national championships must finish a bit sooner in order to give the national selections enough time to prepare their squads. This is the reason why we will have the biggest number of rounds played outside the regular schedule this year so let’s get used to it. On the other side, it makes our job of predicting possible outcomes in order to get your pockets full of money a bit easier. More duels, more chance to win.
FC Koln vs. Eintracht Frankfurt
Three-Way: 1: FC Koln +204; X: +229 Draw; Eintracht Frankfurt +175
Spread 0: FC Koln +110; Eintracht Frankfurt -114
Total +2.5: Over +136; Under -137
FC KOLN
FC Koln team looks to be in a real trouble at the moment. Since the season start, they have recorded five consecutive wins, four in German Bundesliga and one in UEFA Europa League. The abyss started to open after the season-opening loss at Monchengladbach (1:0) and confirmation of results and performance crisis came in the round 2 when they got beaten by Hamburger SV, 3:1 at home. Since then, the team managed to score just one goal and concede 11 in three games. First came the humiliating 3:0 defeat at Augsburg, then they got beaten by FC Arsenal in London as part of the UEFA Europa League group stage round 1, and finally they staged a disgraceful performance at Dortmund last weekend, when they got outplayed and outscored, 5:0.
Performance against Dortmund was to be honest, difficult to watch for the fans that doesn’t prefer either of these teams while I can’t even imagine how did the Koln’s fans feel watching their beloved team being presented by the players that look like some group of guys that just met on the street and decided to play some ball to get their time pass quicker. In this game it looked like the FC Koln team competes in some far weaker national league and frankly, I don’t think that they would manage to get a positive result no matter who they played. It was just the festival of mistakes and obvious lack of will combined with some really bad roster choices that resulted in the way it did. Head coach Peter Stoger started with a 4-5-1 scheme with L. Klunter, J. Mere, D. Heintz and J. Horn operating as a defensive line in front of goalie T. Horn. The midfield was pretty stacked with Koln’s players as M. Risse, M. Hoger, M. Lehmann, Y. Osako and L. Bittencourt got the assignments that should’ve resulted with the domination on this part of the pitch but it was a disaster. J. Cordoba who was placed alone in the attack looked like an amateur in a couple occasions when he received the ball. Overall statistics that shows 70-30 ball possession percentage and a 30-8 total shot towards the goal in favor of the home team speaks enough about the type of the game it was. No Koln’s player had over 81% of passes completed (M. Lehmann) and no Koln’s player has recorded more than two total shots towards the goal (J. Cordoba, M. Risse).
Jonas Hector (ankle) should be back in action in mid-December while Nikolas Nartey’s (knee) and Marius Laux’s (unknown) status is unknown. Artjoms Rudnevs (Illness) is listed as doubtful for Wednesday.
EINTRACHT FRANKFURT
Another low-form squad in the German Bundesliga is Eintracht Frankfurt. They are particularly bad on home soil with two defeats recorded but on the other side, they are undefeated on the road with one draw and one win with no goals conceded yet. Opening 0:0 draw at Freiburg was followed by a home 0:1 home loss against Wolfsburg before they surprised probably everyone with a 1:0 road win over Borussia Monchengladbach in round 3. Last week they recorded another home defeat against FC Augsburg, 1:2. The team currently ranks at the No. 13 spot in the league table with four total points earned and a 1-1-2 record. Their overall goal difference is 2-3 (1:0 on the road).
Against Augsburg, Coach Niko Kovac started with a 3-5-2 scheme with S. Falette, D. Abraham and C. Salcedo at centre-back positions in front of goalkeeper L. Hradecky. J. Willems, M. Gacinovic, M. Hasebe, J. de Guzman and T. Chandler operated in the middle of the field while K. Boateng and S. Haller started as center-forwards. The only goal scorer was L. Jovic who entered the game as a substitute instead of M.Gacinovic in the 67th minute of the match. The team had a 61% ball possession along with 31 shots towards the opponent’s goal (Augsburg had 14) but they still managed to concede two goals in the 20th minute (P. Max) and in the 76Th minute (Caiuby) of the match. Individually, Kevin Prince Boateng presented the biggest threat to Hitz’s goal with five total shots while C. Salcedo and M. Hasebe dominated the passing game with 90.0% and 85.3% of passes completed. De Guzman and Falette were booked in this duel.
Max Besuschkow (groin) is expected to be out until the end of the month while Danny Vieira da Costa (thigh) should be available in early November. Alexander Meier is set to be ready next month while Omar Mascarell (Achilles tendon) should be out of action until mid-January next year. Yanni Regasel’s (back) status is unknown while Danny Blum (neck) is listed as doubtful for tomorrow. Leon Batge (knee) is back in training.
FC Koln vs. Eintracht Frankfurt – Match Prediction
Last year these two teams went “three for three” with 1:0 home wins for both squads. A similar outcome is possible this time too because it’s about time for the FC Koln’s squad to record a win and if that humiliation against Dortmund can’t be used as a wake-up call then I don’t know what can. On the other side, we must be careful because Eintracht Frankfurt obviously puts better displays on the road then at home this year. My first guess here would be under 2.5 goals in total but I would also put FC Koln to win as an additional pick. We’ll see how it plays out.
My pick: Under 2.5 goals (-137)
Additional Pick: FC Koln to win (+204)
