When 1. FC Köln and Borussia Dortmund meet, it’s also about pressure. However, the signs are fundamentally different.
The fan scenes of have been connecting for around 15 years Borussia Dortmund and 1. FC Köln a friendship. Back then, at the end of the 2010/11 season, the Cologne team helped BVB win the German championship with a win in the Rhine duel against Bayer Leverkusen. When Borussia Dortmund travels to 1. FC Köln on Saturday (6.30 p.m.), the atmosphere is likely to be special.
On the pitch, however, the two clubs currently have little in common. While FC is in the middle of a relegation battle, the season for Borussia Dortmund was almost over at the beginning of March.
For BVB it’s all about the Champions League
Dortmund have already been eliminated from the cup and the Champions League. The championship should have been decided at the latest since BVB’s 2-3 defeat against leaders Bayern Munich on the last match day. FCB is now on eleven points. For BVB, it’s now all about qualifying for the Champions League again, which, given their eight points lead in fifth place, should only be a formality.
Coach Niko Kovac is still trying to breathe the air back in. “We still have goals,” said the 54-year-old energetically on Thursday. By this he meant the mathematically certain qualification for the Champions League. “We have to keep an eye on the rearview mirror, nothing has been done yet. We have to score, we want to score.”
Kovac can also see something positive from the newly gained free time during the week after the Champions League exit: “We now have a lot more training minutes, which we use sensibly. We want to perform really well. We can bring some content that we had to neglect back onto the agenda,” he said.
Kwasniok has his back against the wall at FC
These are “problems” that 1. FC Köln would like to have. While Kovac has to generate the pressure himself at BVB, the Cologne team and coach Lukas Kwasniok have their backs to the wall. After only two wins from the last 15 games, FC is worried about staying in the league. The lead over 16th place is now just two points.
Last matchday, Cologne suffered a deserved 2-0 defeat at FC Augsburg. The already loud criticism of Kwasniok then became even louder.
During the week there were even rumors of an ultimatum for Kwasniok. Accordingly, the coach would have to get at least four points from the next three games against Dortmund, Hamburg and Mönchengladbach, otherwise his time in Cologne should be over.
Kwansiok: “We’re just talking about the next game”
Kwasniok clearly rejected these rumors on Thursday: “We’ve never talked about the next three games since I’ve been there. We only ever talk about the next game.”
But Kwasniok is also required regardless of alleged ultimatums. Because the criticism of the 44-year-old is not always just of a sporting nature. His public appearance and his interaction with youngster Said El Mala also repeatedly cause discord in the Cologne environment.
Kwasniok himself tries to ignore this and largely avoids the press and social media. But he can’t completely escape it. “You already develop a feeling for the situation. It was no different in Paderborn or Saarbrücken or Jena. You always think that it’s only like that in Cologne, that if you don’t win games, that there are discussions. You can imagine that. Here they’re probably a little more violent, but that’s beyond me.”
Instead, Kwasniok wants to concentrate on what he can change: “My mission is to work well with the boys over the long term and to have the belief that I can change the situation.”
The last four duels went to Dortmund
The turnaround should now best be achieved against BVB. However, the statistics give FC little hope. Cologne has had little success against BVB recently. The last four duels all went to Dortmund, and FC didn’t even score a goal in the last three games.
FC fans, on the other hand, should be happy that Kwasniok has given youngster El Mala a chance of being in the starting eleven. The 19-year-old “marched up” in training because he wanted to play right from the start. Therefore, the probability is “very high” that he will be in the starting lineup. At BVB, Serhou Guirassy and Ramy Bensebaini, who adhere to the fasting rules of Ramadan, could start again from the start.
Our sources:
- Borussia Dortmund press conference
- Press conference 1. FC Cologne
- Express
- Sports Information Service
Broadcast: “Cologne and BVB – real pressure against artificial tension”, WDR.de, March 5th, 2026, 8:19 p.m
