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Borussia Dortmund will hope to keep the pressure on Bundesliga pace setters Bayern Munich when they host Koln at Signal Iduna Park on Saturday.
Marco Rose’s side prevailed 2-0 against Ingolstadt on Tuesday in the DFB Pokal, and they have a good chance of retaining the cup with Bayern Munich no longer in it.
The focus, for now, will be on the Bundesliga, however. In Koln, Dortmund will face a tricky team that have progressed well under Steffen Baumgart.
Koln are currently eighth in the league table, but their form in recent weeks has been patchy as they have won just one of their last five league games.
After a tough start, Borussia Dortmund have hit their stride in the last few games and will hope to pick up another win and potentially leapfrog Bayern Munich.
Borussia Dortmund vs FC Koln Head-to-head
Borussia Dortmund have won this fixture 38 times, while Koln have edged it on 28 occasions. In total, 24 games have ended as draws.
Koln ended a run of seven games without a win against Dortmund last year when they won 2-1 at Signal Iduna Park. They will hope for a repeat on Saturday.
Borussia Dortmund form guide: W-W-L-W-W
Koln form guide: D-W-L-D-W
Borussia Dortmund vs FC Koln Team News
Borussia Dortmund
The big news is Erling Haaland is not expected to feature for a few weeks due to a thigh injury. All three left-backs – Raphael Guerreiro, Marcel Schmelzer, and Nico Schulz – are also unavailable.
Marco Rose will also be without the trio of Mateu Morey, Giovanni Reyna and Gregor Kobel as the club have several walking wounded at the moment.
Dan-Axel Zagadou continues his progress, and needs more minutes with the second team to regain his match fitness. Mahmoud Dahoud is also a doubt.
Injured: Mateu Morey, Giovanni Reyna, Gregor Kobel, Raphael Guerreiro, Marcel Schmelzer, Nico Schulz
Doubtful: Dan-Axel Zagadou, Mahmoud Dahoud
Suspended: None
FC Koln
Ellyes Skhiri will not feature owing to his injury, while Niklas Hauptmann might also miss out due to illness. Jannes Horn is still not fully due to a hip injury and might miss out.
Injured: Ellyes Skhiri, Jannes Horn
Doubtful: Niklas Hauptmann
Suspended: None
Borussia Dortmund vs FC Koln Predicted Lineups
Borussia Dortmund Probable XI (3-4-2-1): Marwin Hitz; Emre Can, Mats Hummels, Manuel Akanji; Thomas Meunier, Jude Bellingham, Axel Witsel, Thorgan Hazard; Marco Reus, Julian Brandt; Donyell Malen
FC Koln Probable XI (4-4-2): Tim Horn; Jonas Hector, Timo Hubers, Jorge Mere, Kingsley Ehizibue; Dejan Ljubicic, Florian Kainz, Salih Ozcan, Mark Uth; Thielmann, Anthony Modeste
Borussia Dortmund vs FC Koln Prediction
Koln will provide a stern test as Borussia Dortmund have several injuries. Marco Rose's side might drop two points come Saturday.
Prediction: Borussia Dortmund 2-2 Koln
