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1st FC Cologne vs. Union Berlin
On Sunday, two teams that were still active in the Europa League during the week will meet in the Bundesliga. 1. FC Köln receives Union Berlin. Kick-off at the RheinEnergieStadion is at 3:30 pm.
From a purely sporting point of view, however, only one of the two teams is likely to be satisfied with their international performance. While the Cologne team fought their way to a 1-1 draw at French representative OGC Nice, the Berlin team was completely disappointed at home against Belgian runners-up Union Saint-Gilloise and lost the first Europa League match in their club’s history 1-0. This was also their first defeat this season. Find out whether they will let this upset them in the Bundesliga and what other predictions we have for this match in our Cologne vs Union betting tips.
Cologne – Union info:
– Date & Time: 11.09.2022, 15:30 Uhr
– Venue: Cologne, RheinEnergieStadion
– Competition: Bundesliga, Matchday 6
– TV broadcast: DAZN
Cologne Form & Balance Check
While everyone is talking about Freiburg and Union’s great start to the season, 1. FC Köln are somewhat forgotten. After five matchdays, the Geißböcke are still unbeaten and celebrated the best Bundesliga start in six years with nine points. And all of this without top striker Anthony Modeste, who moved to Dortmund and scored 20 league goals for Cologne last season.
After three draws in a row (against Leipzig, Frankfurt & Stuttgart), the cathedral cities won impressively last weekend with 4:2 at VfL Wolfsburg.
Questionable VAR decisions in Cologne’s favour
FC’s good start to the season also has a stale aftertaste, however, and among other things it was helped by highly controversial decisions by the video referee. These included opponents’ offside goals that were disallowed, for example, due to a dubious obstruction of the Cologne goalkeeper, as well as overly harsh red cards that turned the course of the game upside down. Certainly none of these referee decisions were completely wrong, but all 50:50 decisions have so far been interpreted in favour of the Geißböcke.
Cologne facts & analysis
– In the league last won 4:2 in Wolfsburg.
– Still unbeaten in this Bundesliga season (2 wins & 3 draws)
– Sixth in the table with 9 points and 10:6 goals
Union Form & Balance Check
With eleven points from the first five games, Union Berlin made the best Bundesliga start in the club’s history. The Eisernen not only played against the league’s walk-ons, but also defeated RB Leipzig (2:1), among others. Last weekend, they held FC Bayern München to a 1-1 draw.
Against the record champions, Union showed why they are the best team in Germany when it comes to playing against the ball. In addition, the Berliners are characterised by an enormous efficiency in front of the opponent’s goal. In their 6-1 win at Schalke, for example, they had an expected-goals value of just 1.6.
Union’s favourite opponents
In the Europa League, the Berliners were then beaten at their own game. Against a compact Union Saint-Gilloise, they didn’t create any scoring chances worth mentioning and were badly outplayed 0:1. Against Cologne on Sunday, however, the Eisernen will once again let their opponents do the playing. The Berliners have an average of 41 per cent possession, which is the second-lowest figure in the entire league. Cologne, on the other hand, want the ball and are third in this ranking with 55 per cent possession.
In the past, Union has been very successful against FC. The Berliners did not lose any of the last eight direct duels and won a total of six of them.
Union facts & analysis
– Played 1-1 in the league last time out against FC Bayern Munich.
– Still unbeaten in the Bundesliga (3 wins & 2 draws).
– Sheraldo Becker with 5 goals & 2 assists the best scorer in the league
Predicted line-up – last update on 10 September 2022
A clear first eleven has slowly emerged in Cologne. In the centre of attack, Steffen Tigges seems to have made the running after the departure of Anthony Modeste, and in central defence the duo of Timo Hübers and Luca Kilian. In the offensive, the FC currently has to do without the injured Mark Uth. His place was recently taken by Ondrej Duda. Against Union, however, we expect the Slovakian to be rotated out of the starting eleven for the more robust and defensively stronger Eric Martel.
We expect the Eisernen to start with a different starting line-up for the sixth time in their sixth league match. But no matter who is starting for the Eisern so far this season, they are doing a very good job. Against Cologne, Jordan Siebatcheu and Diogo Leite, who have been missing due to injury, are expected to return. Should one of them not make the starting eleven, there are replacements in defence in Danilho Doekhi and in attack in Kevin Behrens.
Cologne – Union direct comparison & statistics
We have already gone into the unbeaten streak of the Berliners. They have not lost to FC for eight games or since 2014. In the Bundesliga, the Cologne team is still winless in this duel. Last season, the two teams drew 2:2 in Cologne in the first half of the season, while Union won their home game 1:0 in the second half.
– In 4 of the last 5 duels, both teams scored.
– In the last 9 duels, only once more than 3 goals were scored
– Union Berlin unbeaten in 8 matches against Cologne
– Union Berlin won 6 of their last 8 matches against Cologne
– Union Berlin scored twice in Cologne three times in a row
