FC Köln vs Hamburger SV. Prediction and Preview. Probable Lineups, Team News, Stats, and more

FC Cologne will face Hamburger SV in the 2. Bundesliga 1st-round match at the RheinEnergieStadion in Cologne. The fixture will take place on Saturday, August 3, beginning at 00:00 IST.

Parimatch News will tell you everything you need to know ahead of the upcoming match.

FC Köln News & Current Form: 

Germany is the first among the major Western European football nations to emerge from the summer break. Although the top-tier Bundesliga clubs are still preparing for the new season, the 2. Bundesliga kicks off on Saturday with a high-profile match between Köln and Hamburger. The Billy Goats were relegated from the top division but are determined to make a swift return, while the team from Hamburg has been attempting to regain their top-flight status since the 2018/19 season, only to fall short each time.

FC Köln narrowly avoided relegation from the Bundesliga in the 20/21 season, initially securing the 16th position and then winning their play-off matches. After these matches, Steffen Baumgart took over as head coach, leading the team to a seventh-place finish next year. The team even had a stint in the UEFA Europa Conference League, though they did not make a significant impact.

Two seasons ago, the Goats finished relatively well, but the following season saw a disastrous first half, leading to Baumgart’s dismissal around Christmas. Despite this change, the team failed to improve after the winter break. Over 34 matches, Cologne managed only five wins and suffered 17 defeats, finishing second from the bottom with 27 points.

During the summer, Timo Schultz was sacked, and Gerhard Struber was appointed as the new head coach. The Austrian is known for his attacking style of play, honed during his time at FC Red Bull Salzburg. It appears that the club’s management wants Köln to adopt this style not only for the upcoming season but for the foreseeable future. Key departures include right-back Benno Schmitz, centre-back Jeff Chabot, and centre-forward Davie Selke, who has moved to Hamburger SV.

Austrian Gerhard Struber, known for his attacking style of play, is now in charge of FC Cologne

In preparation for the new season, Köln has played a series of friendlies with impressive results. The team secured six wins out of seven matches against opponents such as VfL Rheingold Köln-Poll (18:0), Sportfreunde Siegen (6:0), Kickers Offenbach (3:1), Sint-Truiden VV (3:0), Swansea City AFC (2:1), and Udinese Calcio (3:2).

Hamburger SV News & Current Form: 

Hamburger SV once held the record for the longest continuous participation in the Bundesliga, never missing a season until their relegation five years ago. Since then, they have failed to return to the top flight, only making it to the promotion play-offs once in 2023, where they were defeated by VfB Stuttgart, who were gearing up for their next sensational rise.

Last season, the team was considered one of the main promotion contenders, but once again fell short of their objectives. A series of errors in the final stages of the season prevented them from catching up to third-placed Fortuna Düsseldorf, who finished five points ahead. As a result, the team ended the season in fourth place, missing out on the playoffs.

Steffen Baumgart, who was previously dismissed from FC Cologne, has now taken the helm at Hamburger SV

Since late winter, the Red Shorts have been under the guidance of Baumgart, who took over following his dismissal from Cologne FC. This time around, the mentor has conducted a full pre-season with the squad, and expectations are higher compared to when he had to make adjustments on the fly.

The Black-White-Blues have undergone a rigorous pre-season, playing six matches and securing four victories. They defeated opponents such as TuS Neetze (12:0), SV Drochtersen/Assel (5:1), VfB Lübeck (5:2), and French side FC Nantes (4:2). However, in their last two friendlies, Hamburger SV lost at home to Cardiff City FC (3:0) and drew with Aris FC (0:0).

In terms of transfers, there have been minimal changes. Over the summer, they sold central midfielder László Bénes to 1. FC Union Berlin for €3 million, and replaced him with Łukasz Poręba from RC Lens. They also acquired defensive midfielder Daniel Elfradli from 1. FC Magdeburg and signed free agent Davie Selke from Köln. With this squad, the Dinosaurs are poised to compete for a high finish, and the management continues to have faith in Steffen Baumgart. Overall, Hamburger SV is the third most valuable team in the 2. Bundesliga by player market value.

FC Köln form guide: W-L-W-D-W-W

Hamburger SV form guide: W-L-W-W-L-D

FC Köln vs Hamburger SV Head-To-Head Record:

• January 18, 2022: Cologne 1 – 1 Hamburger (DFB-Pokal);
• January 7, 2023: Cologne 4 – 0 Hamburger (Club Friendly).

FC Köln vs Hamburger SV Predicted XI:

Cologne’s possible starting lineup (3-4-3): Schwäbe; Heinz, Chabot, Hübers, Thielmann; Martel, Ljubičić, Maina, Kainz, Alidou; Tigges.

Hamburger’s possible starting lineup (4-3-3): Raab; Muheim, Ramos, Ambrosius, Reis; Meffert, Dompé, Poreba, Königsdörffer, Öztunali; Glatzel.

Statistical preview of the match FC Köln vs Hamburger SV:

• The total value of the hosts’ squad is 69 mln euros, while the total of guests comes up to 38 mln euros.
• Cologne’s First XI average age is 25.3 years, and Hamburger’s First XI average age is 26.0 years.
• Cologne have won five of their last six matches, while Hamburg have failed to win twice in a row.
• The most popular score between the clubs is 2:1 in favour of Hamburg (5 times). Hamburg’s last away win over Cologne was in 2017.
• Goats have scored at least once in their last 9 matches.
• The Reds won the first half in 21% of matches, Hamburg won in 27% of matches.
• Cologne served 11.29 corner kicks during home games last season, while Hamburg had an average of 10.71 in away games. 
• During Cologne’s home matches, there was an average of 4.12 yellow cards, while in Hamburg’s away games there were 4.82 warnings. 

What has been said before the match:

Gaffer of the Goats Struber on the pre-season development and the upcoming opener against Hamburger:

“The team has improved in a lot of areas when it comes to the content within our training. For example, our intensity and synchronised pressing. Overall, I am satisfied because we’ve grown together off the pitch as a squad and coaching staff.”

“I am absolutely buzzing for the game. We’re itching to get going. You can tell that the team is more and more excited for Saturday as each day passes. I think that we’ll see a game with an incredibly high intensity. We need to be clear in what we do and stay lively.”

“When you play against a team that wants to get promoted, then it’s a good test to see where you stand straight away. Now we want to know where we stand and go all in. We will give everything. We’ve built up a certain self-confidence in pre-season and now it’s about doing everything to bring that into the league.”

Former manager of the hosts and now leading the Hamburg team, Steffen Baumgart, commented on the opponent’s style and expressed a desire to deliver an outstanding performance:

“We’ve had a good pre-season and our friendlies were all okay for the fitness levels we had at the time. We worked well at both training camps and were able to do a lot of the things that we wanted to. We’re all happy now, thought to be starting the season properly. I see a lot of quality in our team, but we need to show that on the pitch in order to start the season well. We don’t just want to talk about a good game though, and that’s the most difficult thing in football.”

“It’s obviously an interesting game to be played on matchday 1, but I’m looking forward to it. I had a great time in Cologne, however now my focus is only on HSV and that’s my motto ahead of this game. Nevertheless, the Goats are a good team and belong near the top of the table. They have an aggressive style of play, press high up the pitch and look to force mistakes out of their opponents. That worked really well for them in pre-season, but we’re still travelling there to win.”

Cologne vs Hamburger Prediction:

Both teams are setting their sights on the top of the table in the upcoming campaign. Köln is determined to get back to the elite without any delays, the experience gained against the best teams in Germany and the higher class will play a vital role in this. Hamburg, on the other hand, does not recognise authority and has not squandered the ambitions to break the stay in the second division – the Red Shorts were regulars in the top flight until 2018. 

FC Köln is undergoing a re-building under the third coach in six months, Gerhard Struber is doing a great job so far – he has guided his side through 7 matches of pre-season without defeat. The team is still missing a number of injured players, and finding replacements for departed players has not yet worked out. However, the motivation to make a big statement by beating the Blue-white-blacks for the first time in history and the home-field factor will help the Billy Goats start the season positively. The total of matches at the RheinEnergieStadion has been 2.58 goals per game on average – 0.82 scored, 1.76 conceded. Now this proportion should change, Luca Waldschmidt and teammates are expected to score much more, as the level of the opponents will be lower. 

Hamburger SV has a decent selection of players by the standards of the 2. Bundesliga and managed to record 22 goals in their last 6 games. However, their performance in the last 2 games was lacklustre (3:0 aggregate score), raising questions about the team’s tonus. The Dinos had an average of 3.12 goals scored in away games last season, with only five wins in 17 games. 

Considering the playing patterns and last season’s stats, the opponents are not used to sitting in defence, and their matches are often filled with goal-scoring action. Both sides possess performers who can make the difference, so in an opening match full of emotion we expect to see an intense battle where the Red and Whites will be able to take the three points.

Parimatch News staff prediction:

We say: FC Köln will win and the match total will be over 2.5 – Yes.

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