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In Bundesliga action this weekend, Koln will host Mainz at the RheinEnergieStadion on Saturday afternoon.
Koln have struggled for form of late and have fallen behind in the race for European football. They lost 1-0 to Union Berlin last time out, and despite dominating possession, they were largely toothless in attack.
The Billy Goats sit eighth in the league table, with 40 points from 28 games. They will now look to return to winning ways this weekend and make a late push for European spots.
Mainz, meanwhile, are enduring a tough spell at the moment. They played out a 1-1 draw against Borussia Monchengladbach last weekend before losing 2-1 to Augsburg on Wednesday.
The visitors now sit tenth in the league table, with 38 points from 28 games. They will look to return to winning ways this weekend to keep their European ambitions alive.
Koln vs Mainz Head-to-Head
There have been 30 meetings between Koln and Mainz. The former have won a third of those games, while Mainz have won 12 times. There have been eight draws between the two teams.
The two sides last faced off in the Bundesliga in November last year. The game ended 1-1.
Koln Form Guide (all competitions): L-D-W-L-D.
Mainz Form Guide (all competitions): L-D-W-L-L.
Koln vs Mainz Team News
Koln
Sebastian Andersson, Salih Ozcan and Kingsley Schindler are set to miss the weekend game, with the first two testing positive for COVID-19 and Schindler out due to personal reasons.
Timo Hubers has been suspended due to an accumulation of yellow cards, while Timo Horn and Benno Schmitz are both doubts for the game.
Injured: None.
Doubtful: Timo Horn, Benno Schmitz.
Unavailable: Sebastian Andersson, Salih Ozcan, Kingsley Schindler.
Suspended: Timo Hubers.
Mainz
Jeremiah St Juste remains the only injury concern for the visitors, while Delano Burgzorg is out with a heart condition.
Injured: Jeremiah St. Juste.
Doubtful: None.
Unavailable: Delano Burgzorg.
Suspended: None.
Koln vs Mainz Predicted XIs
Koln (4-1-3-2): Marvin Schwabe (GK); Kingsley Ehizibue, Luca Kilian, Julian Chabot, Jonas Hector; Ellyes Skhiri; Dejan Ljubicic, Ondrej Duda, Florian Kainz; Anthony Modeste, Mark Uth.
Mainz (3-4-1-2): Robin Zentner (GK); Stefan Bell, Alexander Hack, Moussa Niakhate; Silvan Widmer, Dominik Kohr, Anton Stach, Aaron Martin Caricol; Jae-Sung Lee; Karim Onisiwo, Jonathan Burkardt.
$1,100 First Bet Insurance at Caesars
Koln vs Mainz Prediction
Koln have picked up just one win from their last five games. They have struggled in front of goal of late, failing to score more than one goal a game in their last eight league outings.
Like their hosts, Mainz have won just one of their last five league games. They have one of the worst away records in the Bundesliga this season, picking up just two wins on the road and may have to settle for a point this weekend.
Prediction: Koln 1-1 Mainz.
