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Koln will welcome Arminia Bielefeld to the RheinEnergieStadion in Bundesliga action on Saturday.
The hosts have made it two wins in as many games to keep their UEFA Europa Conference League playoffs hopes alive. They secured a comprehensive 3-1 win at Borussia Monchengladbach in their previous league outing, scoring all three goals in the first half.
Arminia Bielefeld, meanwhile, are in a race to retain their top-flight status. They lost 3-0 to Bayern Munich in their previous outing, which was their sixth loss in seven games.
This poor run of form saw Frank Kramer shown the door this week, with goalkeeping coach Marco Kostmann taking over. They are in 17th place in the standings, three points from safety.
Koln vs Arminia Bielefeld Head-to-Head
The two northwest German rivals have locked horns 35 times across competitions. The hosts have the better record in the fixture, securing 17 games against their eastern rivals.
Arminia are not far behind with 14 wins, while only four games have ended in draws. They last met at the Bielefelder Alm in league action in December, with the game ending in a 1-1 draw.
Koln form guide (all competitions): W-W-L-D-W.
Arminia Bielefeld form guide (all competitions): L-L-D-L-L.
Koln vs Arminia Bielefeld Team News
Koln
Swedish striker Sebastian Andersson will be the only absentee for the Billy Goats. He has recovered from COVID-19 but is not fully fit to make an appearance in this game.
Kingsley Schindler, meanwhile, is back in training after missing the trip to Monchengladbach. However, he is not match-ready yet and might not be included in the squad.
Injured: None.
Doubtful: None.
Unavailable: Sebastian Andersson, Kingsley Schindler.
Suspended: None.
Arminia Bielefeld
The visitors have a lengthy list of absentees for their trip to Cologne. Fabian Klos and Cedric Brunner will miss the game due to fracture and concussion respectively. Bryan Lasme, Jacob Barrett Laursen, Fabian Kunze and Florian Kruger face late fitness tests to determine their readiness for the trip to Cologne.
Injured: Fabian Klos, Cedric Brunner.
Suspended: None.
Doubtful: Bryan Lasme, Jacob Barrett Laursen, Fabian Kunze, Florian Kruger.
Unavailable: None.
Koln vs Arminia Bielefeld Predicted XIs
Koln (4-2-3-1): Marvin Schwabe (GK); Benno Schmitz, Luca Kilian, Timo Hubers, Jonas Hector; Ellyes Skhiri, Salih Ozcan; Dejan Ljubicic, Mark Uth, Florian Kainz; Anthony Modeste.
Arminia Bielefeld (4-5-1): Stefan Ortega (GK); Andres Andrade, George Bello, Amos Pieper, Nathan de Medina; Masaya Okugawa, Alessandro Schopf, Sebastian Vasiliadis, Manuel Prietl, Patrick Wimmer; Janni Serra.
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Koln vs Arminia Bielefeld Prediction
Koln have found some form in recent games, scoring three goals in their last two games. They are the favourites at home, having not lost against Die Arminen at home since the turn of the century.
Arminia, meanwhile, will be playing their first game under interim manager Kostmann, who has a tough task at hand. They have not scored in their last five away games and in the last six games overall.
Their poor run in front of goal is expected to continue, resulting in an easy win for the hosts.
Prediction: Koln 2-0 Arminia Bielefeld.
