Wolfsburg will be aiming to return to winning ways when they host FC Koln in the Bundesliga on Saturday.
Koln, meanwhile, have failed to win any of their last five league games to remain inside the automatic relegation zone.
Match preview
© Reuters
Wolfsburg have returned from the winter break with successive 1-1 draws against Mainz 05 and Heidenheim, having taken an early lead via Vaclav Cerny's goals on both occasions.
Against their Bundesliga newcomer opponents on Saturday, Cerny struck after just seven minutes, but Moritz Jenz's own goal restored parity on the stroke of half time. It was a relatively even encounter overall, and meant that Heidenheim remained one point clear of the Wolves in the table.
Having narrowly missed out on qualification for Europe on the final day of last season, head coach Niko Kovac may be concerned about that target already drifting away from his team this time around. They trail Eintracht Frankfurt and Freiburg in sixth and seventh position respectively by seven points.
With consecutive winnable home games against Koln and Hoffenheim on the horizon, Kovac and his players will be expecting to cut that deficit down now that we are beyond the halfway stage of the Bundesliga season. Yet with just one win from their last five league games at the Volkswagen Arena, that is far from an assured situation.
© Reuters
Koln, of course, have far greater concerns after falling to a 4-0 defeat at home to Borussia Dortmund last weekend. Their 11th defeat of the season - which only rock-bottom SV Darmstadt 98 can match - has left them three points adrift of safety.
Donyell Malen fired BVB into the lead after just 12 minutes at RheinEnergieStadion, but Koln managed to avoid conceding again before half time. However, Niclas Fullkrug converted a penalty before the hour mark to double his side's lead, before Malen added another and Youssoufa Moukoko rubbed salt into the wounds by scoring in injury-time.
It is still very much early days for Timo Schultz, who replaced Steffen Baumgart as Koln's manager in the New Year. His first game in charge ended in a 1-1 draw against Heidenheim, and despite suffering a heavy defeat against Dortmund, Koln did manage 19 shots and five shots on target against their Champions League-chasing opponents.
However, time is running out for them to avoid a sixth relegation from Germany's top flight since the turn of the century, especially as the likes of Werder Bremen and VfL Bochum moved nine points clear of them last time out. Schultz may sense an opportunity to avoid defeat at the very least on Saturday.
Team News
© Reuters
Wolfsburg will remain without Ridle Baku, Patrick Wimmer, and Lukas Nmecha due to injury. The trio are all expected to return to first-team action at different points during next month.
Having earned a decent point away to in-form Heidenheim, Kovac may see little reason to change anything against opponents desperately struggling to pick up positive results. Cerny will be hoping to make it three goals in three games from the right flank.
Koln, meanwhile, will travel without forwards David Selke, Luca Waldschmidt, and Mark Uth due to injury. Waldschmidt has been ruled out for the rest of the season after breaking his leg, while Selke and Uth are unlikely to return for at least another few weeks.
As a result, Schultz selected no recognised striker against Dortmund, with Florian Kainz and Jan Thielmann starting as withdrawn forwards. However, given their disastrous result, Sargis Adamyan may be called upon to lead the line against Wolfsburg.
Wolfsburg possible starting lineup:
Casteels; Maehle, Bornauw, Jenz, Rogerio; Gerhardt, Arnold; Cerny, Majer, Kaminski; Wind
FC Koln possible starting lineup:
Schwabe; Schmitz, Hubers, Chabot, Finkgrafe; Martel, Huseinbasic; Ljubicic, Thielmann, Kainz; Adamyan
We say: Wolfsburg 1-0 FC Koln
Neither side have been scoring prolifically this season, meaning that there is unlikely to be many goals scored when they meet in Lower Saxony on Saturday. Both managers will be lamenting injuries to key attacking personnel.
However, Wolfsburg have at least managed to score in both of their matches since returning from the winter break, and if they can do so again, we can envisage that being enough to return to winning ways against Koln. The visitors appear destined for relegation this season.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
