The early season has been a bit of a mixed bag for Koeln. Before centre half Pedro Geromel returned to action, die Geissboecke struggled at the back, and lost their opening two fixtures by an aggregate 7-3 margin. More recently, they beat St Pauli and held Bayern Munich to a draw.
Most recently, in their Tuesday clash with Mainz, Koeln held onto their point for 72 minutes. However, their efforts proved to be in vain as they eventually succumbed to their impressive hosts.
“We had great difficulties in the first half and we had no answer to Mainz’s style of play,” coach Zvonimir Soldo told Sky after the game. At the same time, the coach lamented his team’s poor defensive quality late in the game.
“We began to improve in the second half, but we gave away two soft goals.”
Looking ahead to this weekend’s match with Hoffenheim, Koeln will have to shore up their defence, but may have to do without the services of Pedro Geromel, who has been a tremendous force at the back since returning from an injury lay-off. The Brazilian is suffering from a muscle strain, and may have to join long-term casualty Kevin McKenna on the sidelines.
Looking forward to the upcoming match, Soldo described Hoffenheim as “tough opponents.” Responding to questions of his tactical approach, the Croat stressed that the score is what matters most.
“What matters is not how many strikers we use against Hoffenheim. What is important is the end result.”
Hoffenheim Hope To Extend Perfect Streak In Koeln
Hoffenheim broke out of last year’s sophomore slump with a blistering start to their 2010-11 campaign, but in the last week, have faltered. After drawing and losing in consecutive matches, the Sinsheim side are five points behind red-hot Mainz, but remain in the respectable position of third, with ten points from five matches.
Following their Tuesday loss to Bayern Munich, coach Ralf Rangnick was dejected, but vowed to rebound against Koeln.
“We made a huge effort and we had a great chance to win the game in the 87th minute,” he told Sky. “It is a bitter feeling to lose in stoppage time.”
“We definitely deserved a point today. We must now look ahead and do our best to win in Koeln this Friday.”
A win in Koeln would be just the ticket for the Sinsheim club, who could find themselves back within striking distance os the top spot, depending on how Mainz fare against Bayern. History favours the village side, who have visited Koeln twice since reaching Germany’s top tier, and won on both occasions.
TEAM NEWS
Koeln
Though it remains uncertain how Soldo will deploy his team, it is expected that Koeln will line up with just Lukas Podolski in attack. There remain questions over the use of Taner Yalcin and Pedro Geromel, who could be swapped for Adam Matuszczyk and Kevin Pezzoni, respectively. Definite absentees are Adil Chihi, Christopher Schorch, Kevin McKenna, and Manasseh Ishiaku.
Probable Starting XI: Mondragon - Brecko, Geromel, Mohamad, Ehret - Petit - Freis, Yalcin, Jajalo, Clemens - Podolski
Hoffenheim
After his impressive performance in midweek, Sebastian Rudy is expected to retain his starting role at the expense of Peniel Mlapa, and Ralf Rangnick will likely use a 4-4-2 system. Andreas Ibertsberger should replace the struggling Marvin Compper at left back, but otherwise, Rangnick will use the same starting lineup that featured in Tuesday’s 2-1 loss to Bayern Munich. Tom Starke, Matthias Jaissle and Chinedu Obasi all remain injured, and will be unable to take part in Friday’s match.
Probable Starting XI: Starke - Beck, Simunic, Vorsah, Ibertsberger - Weis, Rudy, Luis Gustavo, Salihovic - Ibisevic, Ba
Prediction
A lot is riding on the fitness of Geromel, but Koeln should be able to secure a draw if the Brazilian plays. The hosts will be content to draw, and given that Hoffenheim just don’t seem to be firing on all cylinders, should be able to earn one.
FC Köln 2-2 TSG Hoffenheim 
