Köln take on Darmstadt in the mother of all relegation six-pointers in the Bundesliga at home on Saturday, as the Lillies can potentially be relegated with a loss.
Match Overview
Köln
Last time out for Köln it was a good performance but no points to show for it as they lost by two goals to record champions Bayern Munich. One positive from this was the performance of Marvin Schwäbe who single handedly kept the game at 0-0 by the break.
Köln still have the weakest attack out of any side in the Bundesliga and have only scored twenty-three goals this campaign. To make matters worse, their top goalscorer in the league with six goals Davie Selke (who incidentally scored against Darmstadt in the last fixture) is out for this match and the entire season.
Despite this, Effzeh striker Luca Waldschmidt will bring a fresh attitude and some skills into the game this weekend as he impressed greatly during his short cameo last home game against Bochum as he scored the winner.
The biggest bright light for the Billy Goats ahead of this game is that they have not lost this entire season to a team in the current bottom four (two wins, two draws).
Finally, ahead of Saturday's game, 1. FC Köln coach Timo Schultz said: "We'll give our all to get three points on Saturday. The focus should be fully on us. We need to make sure that we're more dangerous in front of goal and create more chances."
Darmstadt
Darmstadt were edged out 1-0 by Freiburg in yet another loss in the Bundesliga (this time at home) despite having more shots on target and total shots.
Darmstadt have now failed to find the net in over 200 minutes of league action since the second half against Bochum in the 2-2 draw.
No other team in Germany's top flight have conceded more than SV Darmstadt. Torsten Lieberknecht's side have let in 72 goals this campaign in the league.
Adding to the pressure of the occasion, Köln have never lost to Darmstadt in the Bundesliga in their nine encounters (seven wins, two draws).
Lastly, ahead of the tie against the side from Müngersdorf, Darmstadt's head coach Lieberknecht said: With Kainz, Alidou, Maina they (Köln) have a number of players who can make their mark in transition. Cologne are also dangerous from set pieces."
Team News
Köln
As confirmed in Timo Schultz's press conference, Dejan Ljubicic will miss Saturday's key tie. Justin Diehl is back in individual training finally but won't be in the squad on Saturday and the same goes for Luca Kilian due to his knee injury.
Davie Selke was due to undergo surgery for his foot and will miss the rest of the season, as he went off against Bochum in the second half two weeks ago. Lastly, Mark Uth is a doubt due to recurring knee issues, but may get limited game time.
Darmstadt have been put under immense pressure due to the long injury list they have, the following players are all out for them: Fabian Holland (knee injury), Fraser Hornby (ankle injury), Marvin Mehlem (calf injury) and Fabian Nürnberger (ankle injury).
The doubts for the Lillies are Alexander Brunst and Oscar Vilhelhmsson.
Predicted Lineups
Below are the predicted lineups for 1. FC Köln vs Darmstadt:
Match Result
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