Borussia M’gladbach vs FC Koln

February 13, 2015
By: Nemanja Lazarevic

Having suffered a costly defeat to top 4 rivals Schalke, Borussia M’gladbach will be out to revive their Champions League hopes when they one of league’s best travellers. FC Koln may struggle at home, as witnessed by two successive goalless draws, but they continued the impressive away run by beating Hamburg a couple of weeks back.

A force to be reckoned with at Borussia Park

With a couple of impressive seasons behind them, many have probably forgotten all about the 2010/2011 season, when current coach Lucien Favre managed to save die Fohlen from relegation. Fast forward four years and Borussia are vying for Champions League positions, while enjoying a very good run in Europa League and DFB Pokal. Die Fohlen did slip to fifth in the overall standings as they suffered a narrow loss to Schalke last weekend, but with both Miners and Augsburg facing difficult away ties, Borussia would probably return to top 4 with a win over FC Koln. Even if their next opponents have been pretty impressive on the road this season, die Fohlen have plenty of reason for optimism, mostly because they have won last four home games in all competitions. Lucien Favre’s charges have turned their Borussia Park in a genuine fortress over the years, and the likes of Kruse, Herrmann and Raffael could be a perfect solution for FC Koln’s rock-solid defence. The hosts will not have an easy job against the counter-attacking Billy Goats, but I trust them to record an important home win.

With Andre Hahn set to be included in the match squad for the first time in 2015, coach Lucien Favre will have fully fit squad to select from.

Koln continue to surprise

One of Germany’s most famous clubs did well to return to the elite division last summer and they have since managed to stay above the Bundesliga relegation zone. Koln have experienced all sorts of problems at their RheinEnergieStadion, winning just one of ten league fixtures and scoring mere four goals in the process, but Peter Stoger’s men have been simply faultless on the road. Having won five of ten away games this season, Koln’s away record is second only to holders Bayern Munich, but it remains to be seen whether the Billy Goats can extend the amazing run on the road. Their back line appears to be in perfect working order seeing as the team have yet to concede in the new year, but given they also failed to score in their last two outings, it is clear Koln have serious problems up front. And with coach Peter Stoger expected to switch to 4-5-1 formation for the match in Monchengladbach, we cannot really expect the visitors to fare much better when facing Borussia on Saturday afternoon.

The good news is there are no fresh selection worries, although striker Patrick Helmes remains a long-term casualty.

Verdict

Borussia have beaten much stronger sides than Koln at their Borussia Park this season and having win last four matches there, another victory appears on the cards. The Billy Goats have been recording some amazing results on the road, but the good run could easily end in Monchengladbach.

Top pick: Home win   1.75 (3/4) @ Coral

Alternative pick 1: Under 2.5 goals   1.75 (3/4) @ Ladbrokes

Alternative pick 2: Borussia to win to nil   2.70 (17/10) @ BetVictor

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