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Schalke 04 – 1. FC Köln
17 matchdays have been completed in the Bundesliga, and the second half of the season officially gets underway next weekend. After the first half of the season, FC Schalke 04 are already on single-digit points for the second time in their long club history. Under these conditions, staying in the league seems to be an impossibility, as it was two years ago. Nevertheless, the players will not give up early and will fight for every point until the end. Next up, the Königsblauen welcome 1. FC Köln to the Veltins Arena on Sunday afternoon, kick-off is at 15:30.
Cologne deserved to win the first leg 3:1. For the Effzeh, it was the beginning of a great start to the season before their strength began to wane more and more towards the end of the first leg. Schalke also recovered from their opening defeat and lost only one of their next five games. Since the 0:1 defeat by Dortmund on matchday 7, however, nothing has gone right for the Knappen. Apart from the 1:0 against Mainz on matchday 14, Schalke have lost each of their last eleven Bundesliga games. Our Schalke vs. Cologne tip reveals whether we expect the next defeat on Sunday.
Schalke – Cologne Info
– Date & Time: 29.01.2023, 15:30 Uhr
– Venue: Veltins-Arena, Gelsenkirchen
– Competition: Bundesliga, Matchday 18
– TV broadcast: DAZN
Schalke Form & Balance Check
Fc Schalke 04 continue to be in free fall. Anyone who had hoped that the 1-0 home win against Mainz on matchday 14 would have a lasting effect has been proven wrong in recent games. However, it should not go unmentioned that the subsequent programme really had its work cut out for it and Schalke is certainly not the only Bundesliga team that would not have taken a point from these three games.
Immediately after the success against Mainz, Schalke lost 0:2 against the league leaders FC Bayern, before the guest game at the Champions League eighth-finalists Eintracht Frankfurt was lost 0:3 last weekend. At least the performances were decent by Schalke’s standards, which is more than can be said for the recent 1:6 against RB Leipzig.
There, Königsblau defended in a partly subterranean manner and was already deservedly trailing 0:5 at the break. The only bright spot was winger Soichiro Kozuki, who came from the second team to the pros in the winter, scored the interim 1:5 and was definitely an enrichment for the harmless offensive game.
Mainz as a role model
But no matter how hopeless the situation seems – hope dies last. And it’s not like no team has ever managed to stay in the class out of such a situation. In 2020/21, FSV Mainz 05 even had two points less than Schalke at the end of the first half of the season and managed to stay in the league without relegation.
Schalke facts & analysis
– 9 points from 17 games
– Last lost 1:6 against RB Leipzig
– Lost 10 of last 11 matches
Cologne form & balance check
1. FC Köln is one of the Bundesliga teams that undoubtedly benefited greatly from the long winter break. A look at the first half of the season shows that the Cathedral City side’s strength began to wane more and more towards the end of the year. The reason for this is primarily the intensive style of play, which could not be practised at the same intensity throughout due to the double load and some injury worries.
After the long break, the batteries are now recharged and Steffen Baumgart’s team has shown in the first two games of the new year what it is capable of in a good physical condition. Even though the Effzeh also benefited from mistakes by their opponents in the second-round opener in Bremen, it is still a remarkable achievement to lead 5:0 after 36 minutes in the Weserstadion and win 7:1 in the end. Cologne then even picked up a point against FC Bayern for the first time since 2016 last Tuesday.
Kimmich blows perfect start to the year
In retrospect, Cologne will even be annoyed that they didn’t go home with three points in the bag. After conceding the early goal, the record champions naturally had more of the game, but the passionately defending Cologne team kept them at bay for the most part. The late equaliser just before the final whistle came from Joshua Kimmich’s fine long-range shot. The Cologne team at least averted their fifth away defeat in a row with the draw.
Cologne facts & analysis
– 21 points from 17 games
– Last played 1:1 against Bayern
– Only won 1 away game (4:2 in Wolfsburg)
Predicted line-up – last update on 27 January 2023
There could well be changes at FC Schalke after the disgraceful 1:6 against Leipzig, although there are not too many options. More or less the entire back four disappointed, change options here would be Aydin and Kaminski. New signing Skarke from 1. FC Union could immediately move into the starting eleven for Bülter, who also has a past with the capital club.
Cologne coach Steffen Baumgart could order Ljubicic and Selke into the starting eleven, and Hübers could also replace Soldo in central defence. The Effzeh will have to do without Uth, Pedersen, Dietz, Andersson, Limnios and Kilian.
Schalke – Cologne direct comparison & Statistics
This match between Schalke and Cologne has been played 98 times so far. The balance is clearly in favour of Cologne, who have won 45 games. Schalke, on the other hand, have only managed 29 victories, with 24 other games ending in draws. The last few years have been even clearer. The Effzeh won each of the last four duels, before that four encounters in a row ended in draws. FC Schalke’s last win came in March 2016, and their last home victory even dates back to 13 August 2011 (5:1).
– Both teams did not win their last match in the Bundesliga.
– Dominick Drexler has the most assists on goal for Schalke 04 with 3 assists. Florian Kainz (5) is in front for 1. FC Köln.
– The average number of goals in the first half in matches between Schalke 04 and 1. FC Köln is 1.
– Schalke 04: Marius Bülter has collected the most yellow cards (4). For 1. FC Köln it’s Ondrej Duda (4).
