Table of Contents
VfL Wolfsburg vs. 1. FC Köln
VfL Wolfsburg are still waiting for their first win in the Bundesliga. With only two points from the first four games of the season, the bottom line is the worst start to the season for the Wolves in 21 years. The Volkswagen club has not made a worse start since joining the Bundesliga.
One reason for this is undoubtedly coach Niko Kovac, who has not yet found an approach to his new team. In addition, Kovac is said to have already fallen out with striker Kruse, so that there is internal unrest in the Wolfsburg camp after only four games. Against Cologne, the Wolves will get the chance to do more than just turn the proverbial tables.
The Geißbock is on top after successfully qualifying for the Europa Conference League. The Effzeh won in Hungary and drew exciting lots for the group stage, which include Nice. Coach Steffen Baumgart’s team is still undefeated in everyday play. However, Cologne have not been able to win since the victory over Gelsenkirchen at the beginning of the season. On Saturday, a confident Geißbock will meet an unsettled Wolf. Who is more likely to win this duel, you can read in our Wolfsburg – Cologne betting tip.
Wolfsburg – Cologne Info:
– Date & Time: 03.09.2022, 15:30 Uhr
– Venue: Wolfsburg, Volkswagen Arena
– Competition: Bundesliga, Matchday 5
– TV broadcast: Sky
Wolfsburg Form & Balance Check
Despite missing out on qualification for one of the three European competitions, VfL Wolfsburg did not have to sell any player except Schlager in the summer. The Wolves still have a squad that has to play for the top six places in the table. But football is not decided on paper; in reality, VfL has been playing atrocious football so far. Niko Kovac, who took over the Wolves at the beginning of this season, has not yet found favour in Lower Saxony with his idea of the game. The Lower Saxons are still waiting for their first win. The fact is that the last time Wolfsburg started a season with just two points from four games was in 2001.
Who scores the goals?
If you want to win games, you have to score goals. So far, VfL has only managed to do this on Matchday 1 in a 2-2 draw against promoted Werder Bremen. Wolfsburg took only one point from the three subsequent games. Against another promoted team, Schalke, the Wolves once again only drew 0:0. Against Bayern and Leipzig, the Lower Saxons lost 0:2 each. Thus, Wolfsburg did not score a single goal in the last three games. In addition, Wolfsburg’s best striker, Max Kruse, was almost sorted out by Kovac. The club’s negative record stands at four Bundesliga games in a row without a goal of their own. Felix Magath set this in 2013 and under Florian Kohfeldt, VfL confirmed it again in the 2021/22 season.
Wolfsburg facts & analysis
– With 2 points on the 15th place.
– Still without a win
– No goal scored in last 3 games
Cologne form & balance check
Köln is one of only four teams in total that are still unbeaten after four games. The other teams are: Bayern, Union and Gladbach. However, of these clubs, the Effzeh is the one with the lowest points tally, which should not diminish the fact. Coach Baumgart’s team started the season with a 3:1 home win. Since then, however, three draws have followed in the Bundesliga. However, it is important to look at these in detail, as Cologne played 2:2 against Leipzig, among others. Last weekend, the Geißbock drew 0-0 with Stuttgart.
Record set
The Effzeh’s only win so far has come at home. Away from home, Cologne drew 2-2 in Leipzig and 1-1 in Frankfurt, meaning that Cologne have scored in every away game so far and have taken home something worthwhile. It is remarkable that Cologne is still unbeaten away from home after this programme. This is the first time since the 2016/17 season that the Geißbock have been able to survive the first four games of the Bundesliga season unbeaten. Above all, goalkeeper Schwäbe is one of the guarantors of success. So far, he has saved 75 per cent of the shots on goal in his box.
Cologne facts & analysis
– In 8th place with 6 points.
– Still unbeaten
– Drawn three times in a row last time
Predicted line-up – last update on 1 September 2022
With zero goals in their last three games, VfL Wolfsburg can make good use of their striker Jonas Wind. However, the Dane continues to be out injured. The same applies to Gerhardt. It will be interesting to see whether coach Kovac continues to voluntarily do without Kruse. Most recently, the Wolves played in a 4-3-3 formation.
Coach Steffen Baumgart also has to do without several of his players due to injury. Uth, Schmitz, Chabot and Limnios are out. In addition, Cologne gave away Ehizibue to Udinese Calcio during the week. Therefore, Schindler will play at right-back in Wolfsburg. Duda could also start behind the attacking duo in the ten-man position.
Wolfsburg – Cologne direct comparison & statistics
In 35 duels against Cologne, Wolfsburg have already won 16 times. Cologne, on the other hand, have only won nine times in this pairing. In addition, this match-up has not found a winner ten times. The last time this match was played, the result was 1:0 for Wolfsburg.
– The last duel in Wolfsburg was won by Cologne with 3:2.
– Steffen Baumgart played 32 matches for VfL Wolfsburg.
– The Effzeh have played 134 of their 360 minutes in goal this season.
– VfL manager Jörg Schmadtke was already manager in Cologne.
