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On matchday 25, 1. FC Cologne welcomes Borussia Dortmund on Saturday evening. The promoted team has only picked up one point in the last four games and therefore has to deal with the relegation battle more than many had thought over the course of the season. Cologne is only two points ahead of the relegation zone. The podcast hosts Tobi Schäfer and Jens Walbrodt discuss why Cologne could have a difficult time until the end of the season.
In the Cologne offensive, either shooting star Said El Mala or center forward Ragnar Ache shine with goals. El Mala’s role in particular is always discussed: does he have to be in the starting line-up or come in as a joker? The statistics show that El Mala is more dangerous as a substitute.
Dependence on El Mala and Ache too great?
“With a winger like El Mala, it’s not enough to just start him from the start”says podcast host Jens Walbrodt in the Sportschau Bundesliga Update Podcast. “Especially when you play against teams that don’t offer much space behind the defense, there have to be playful ideas for using him. If you can accuse Cologne of something, it’s that these rarely exist.” El Mala is Cologne’s best scorer, scoring eight times and adding three goals. “But just being able to count on El Mala or Ache as a goalscorer is not enough. There are often no scorers from the midfield or from set pieces.”adds podcast host and sports show presenter Tobi Schäfer.
Is Cologne still in acute danger of relegation?
1 FC Köln still has a few direct duels in the relegation battle ahead of them. “Especially in these duels, I often found Cologne unconvincing this season“, says Jens Walbrodt in the Bundesliga Update. On the last ten match days of the first half of the season, Cologne only got six points. There was one win in the home game against Hamburger SV. Cologne played a draw against St. Pauli, Heidenheim and Werder Bremen.
“I expect Cologne to stay in class”says Tobi Schäfer in the Sportschau podcast. However, things will remain tight for Cologne until the end of the season. 1. FC Köln will play against Borussia Dortmund next weekend and will therefore be hosting an opponent from the top of the table. The following week, the Cologne team has to compete in the promotion duel against Hamburger SV.
Who will reach the Champions League?
The race for the Champions League also remains exciting. Hoffenheim, Stuttgart, Leipzig and Leverkusen – there are currently four candidates for the Champions League ranks behind Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund. In the current episode of the Sportschau football podcast, Tobi Schäfer and Jens Walbrodt make a prediction and predict the final table ten match days before the end of the season. Who will make it into the Champions League and all other predictions for the rest of the season can be found in the current episode of the Sportschau Bundesliga Update.
The Bundesliga update – every Thursday and Monday
The Bundesliga update is available in the ARD audio library, wherever podcasts are available and on the Sportschau football channel on YouTube. New episodes appear on Thursday afternoons and Monday mornings.
