Cologne-Leipzig is a Bundesliga match on matchday 19 and is played on Saturday at 15:30: line-ups, predictions, TV and streaming.
17 matches. That’s how long Leipzig’s unbeaten run has been going on, and they have started this 2023 as well as they could. Marco Rose’s team, after the self-confidence boost following the draw with Bayern Munich, have collected three wins in a row between Bundesliga and German Cup. And the Roten Bullen seem to have no intention of stopping.
In the cup, against Hoffenheim, the ex-Borussia Dortmund coach did not want to leave anything to chance, deploying the first-choice players, despite the importance of the imminent championship challenge against Cologne: the match against the Sinsheim formation, overwhelmed 3-1, was already on ice after the first part of the game, thanks to the goals scored by Forsberg and Laimer. In the final, Timo Werner also found a way to write his name in the scorers’ sheet, completely reborn after returning to Germany after his so-so experience with Chelsea in London. Leipzig, after their domestic cup success, will now focus on the tricky game at the RheinEnergieStadion: a victory would mean staying within touching distance of leaders Bayern, who have just returned from three draws in a row and this weekend face a tough challenge at Wolfsburg.
Both have made a good start to 2023
Rose, however, should not underestimate the team coached by Steffen Baumgart too much. Cologne have looked good in these early post-season matches and are another team who were able to avoid defeat by Bayern Munich
Baumgart
Five points in three matches for the Billy Goats, who, after beating Werder Bremen in the first match of the new year with a humiliating 7-1, drew with the Bavarians and with the Bundesliga’s bottom-of-the-table Schalke 04. Against the last in the league table, it is true, something more was expected, but Cologne perhaps suffered from the three close matches. Already in the autumn Baumgart’s line-up had finished outside the Conference League, confirming that they did not have a squad equipped to cope with the double commitment.
The Prediction
Leipzig are on a roll and know that if they are to have any chance of challenging Bayern Munich for the title they cannot make too many mistakes. The hosts are slight favourites in a match of at least three goals overall, which has never failed in ten of the last eleven clashes between these two teams.
Köln-Leipzig matchday squad
- COLONIA (4-2-3-1): Schwäbe; Schmitz, Hübers, Chabot, Hector; Skhiri, Martel; Maina, Huseinbasic, Kainz; Tigges.
- LIPSIA (4-4-2): Blaswich; Henrichs, Orban, Gvardiol, Raum; Szoboszlai, Laimer, Schlager, Forsberg; André Silva, Werner.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 1-2
