Koln vs Werder Bremen

The two sides battling at the wrong end of the table go head-to-head at the RheinEnergieStadion, as Koln tackle resurgent Werder Bremen.

After winning back-to-back Bundesliga matches, Koln have now lost three in a row, a sequence that sees them flirting with the relegation zone. Only dead-last Schalke (5) have returned fewer league points at home than ‘Die Geißböcke’ (6) this season, with Markus Gisdol’s men picking up just a single triumph in their 11 top-flight games at the RheinEnergieStadion (D3, L7). Much of the blame has to be pinned on a leaky defense that has kept only one clean sheet on home soil this term, conceding a league fourth-high 20 goals in the process. However, Koln can draw some confidence from their imperious run against Werder at home, having avoided defeat in each of their last nine top-flight H2Hs as hosts (W4, D5).

Meanwhile, a 2-1 comeback win against Eintracht Frankfurt at home last time out gave Werder a first Bundesliga win after three matches (D2, L1), helping them build a healthy eight-point lead on 16th-placed Arminia Bielefeld. The ‘clean-sheet’ theme remains significant in the context of Werder’s competitive fixtures preceding this showdown, as five of the last eight have seen one or both sides fail to hit the net. It’s been a topsy-turvy away league campaign for ‘Die Werderaner’ so far (W3, D4, L4), with Florian Kohfeldt’s men netting over 1.5 goals in only three of their 11 top-flight trips. It will be a daunting prospect for the visitors to improve that record now, as they take on a side they have failed to score against in three of their last four Bundesliga matches held at this venue.