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Augsburg and Cologne will trade tackles at the WWK Arena on Friday, with three points at stake in the Bundesliga.
The hosts come into this game on the back of a 2-0 defeat away to Eintracht Frankfurt. Martin Hinteregger and Andre Silva got on the scoresheet to give Adolf Huetter's side all three points.
Cologne posted a shock 2-1 victory over title-chasing RB Leipzig. Jonas Hector starred in a second-half brace to power the hosts to the win.
That victory boosted their chances of survival, although they remained in 17th spot, three points away from safety. Augsburg are 11th, having garnered 33 points from 30 games played to date.
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Augsburg vs Cologne Head-to-Head
This will be the 19th fixture between the sides in the last three decades. Augsburg have the better record with seven wins to their name.
Cologne were victorious in four previous matches, while seven games ended in a share of the spoils.
Their most recent meeting came on 2 January 2021, when a second-half strike by Iago Borduchi gave Augsburg a 1-0 away win.
Cologne's victory over Leipzig halted a run of nine games without a win in the Bundesliga. Augsburg have registered one victory in their last five league games.
Augsburg form guide: L-L-D-W-L
Cologne form guide: W-L-L-L-D
Augsburg vs Cologne Team News
Augsburg have two players sidelined through injury. Tim Civeja (groin) and Noah Joel Sarenren Bazee are both unavailable.
Jeffery Gouweleeuw, Jan Movarek and Fredrik Jensen have all returned to fitness from their injury layouts and should be available for selection.
Furthermore, Daniel Caligiuri and Rani Khedira have served out their suspensions for accumulated yellow cards. However, defender Felix Uduokhai is suspended.
Injuries: Tim Civeja, Noah Joel Sarenren-Bazee
Suspension: Felix Uduokhai
Cologne
Cologne have three players sidelined through injuries. Sebastian Andersson (knee), Ismail Jakobs (ankle) and Jan Thielmann (muscle) are unavailable for selection.
Nigerian defender Kingsley Ehizibue was unavailable for selection following his yellow card in the victory over Leipzig.
Injuries: Ismail Jakobs, Sebastian Andersson, Jan Thielmann
Suspension: Kingsley Ehizibue
Augsburg vs Cologne Predicted XI
Augsburg Predicted XI (4-4-2): Rafael Gikiewicz (GK); Iago Borduchi, Jeffery Gouweleeuw, Reece Oxford, Raphael Framberger; Ruben Vargas, Andre Hahn, Rani Khedira, Daniel Caliguri; Andre Helm, Marco Richter
Cologne Predicted XI (4-1-4-1): Timo Horn (GK): Jannes-Killian Horn, Rafael Czichos, Sebastian Bornauw, Noah Katterbach; Ellyes Skhiri, Marius Wolf, Jonas Hector, Elvis Rexhbecaj, Dominick Drexler, Ondrej Duda
Augsburg vs Cologne Prediction
Augsburg are one of the more conservative sides in the Bundesliga and this is especially true when they square off against lower opposition.
Neither side have flourished in attack this season and we can expect a relatively cagey affair. Cologne are in dire need of points and might play on the front foot, leaving space behind for the hosts to exploit.
We are predicting a narrow victory for Augsburg.
Prediction: Augsburg 1-0 Cologne
