Crunch encounter in Köln: “It’s going to be a lively game”

Julian Nagelsmann on…

…the opponent.

Köln have made an exceptionally good start to the season. Jörg Schmadtke and Peter Stöger have done a lot of good work there over the years. They are a good team who defend well, are strong on the counter-attack and have a lot of quality players in their squad. It will be a lively match on Wednesday evening.

…the players.

Sandro Wagner hasn’t fully recovered from the knock he took to his upper thigh during the match against Leverkusen. We are also waiting for news on Jeremy Toljan. He couldn’t train on Monday but after receiving treatment he looks more likely to make an appearance. Pavel Kaderabek will miss the game through suspension. Mark Uth and Pirmin Schwegler are still injured and will have to wait for their next appearance.

…the sporting situation.

We will decide whether we will rotate the squad on Tuesday. There might be one or two changes to the team. But nobody urgently needs to rest. We have played in some intense matches but it’s a bit easier when you’ve been winning. Everyone wants to play and nobody wants to willingly sit out. I will watch the players in our final training session before making a decision. I have never worked at Köln, neither as a player or as a coach. Therefore I am really looking forward to the match. It will definitely be sold out and there is always a special atmosphere at DFB Cup matches. You either qualify or you don’t. We have started to defend better. We are getting better on the counter and we only need a bit of time to create a goalscoring chance. We want to put on a good performance in Köln.

Previous meetings:

TSG Hoffenheim and FC Köln have already faced each other twice in the DFB Cup. Both of these were second round ties that took place on a Wednesday evening. Hoffenheim won 2-1 in the 2011/12 season but back in 2002/03 it was FC Köln that got the win. Both meetings between the two sides in the Bundesliga last season ended in a draw. 

The form of the opposition:

Peter Stöger’s team lost 2-1 to Hertha BSC in the Bundesliga last weekend, their first defeat in the league since 10th April 2016 when they lost 2-1 to Bayer Leverkusen. Despite this defeat, Köln have made an impressive start to the season especially at home, winning three and drawing one. 

Key battles:

Former Hoffenheim player Anthony Modeste now plays as a forward for FC Köln. The Frenchman played well for them last year, but this season he has really stepped up his game. He has scored eight goals in eight matches for FC Köln and has been involved in 9 of their 13 league goals so far this season. The TSG Hoffenheim defence will have to be ready to deal with this threat.

 

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