The Rheinderby takes place on Sunday as a struggling FC Köln face a struggling Borussia Mönchengladbach as both teams try and rescue what is left of their seasons.
Before the international break, Köln were beaten convincingly by Borussia Dortmund 6-1. At no point were they in the game at all and the loss extended their winless run to five games, while since the new year, they have only won twice.
Off the pitch, things have gotten worse for Köln as they are set to face a two-year transfer ban for the signing of Slovenian forward Jaka Cuber last year. This has thrown even more doubt into the air as the likes of Ellyes Skhiri is set to leave in the summer on a free transfer and they will be unable to sign a replacement.
While Gladbach are in a similar position having only won once in the last five games, in typical Gladbach fashion against Bayern Munich. Before the international break, Gladbach threw away their lead twice to draw 2-2 with Werder Bremen. Marcus Thuram opened the scoring just after halftime before Marvin Ducksch equalised. Florian Neuhaus would give Gladbach the lead again before Ducksch once again scored for Bremen in the 89th minute to rescue a point for them. The dropped two points means Gladbach now sit seven points off of a likely European spot.
This weekend is important for Köln to get a result not only for bragging rights but to rescue their season. Köln’s slump in results has seen them only sit six points clear from the relegation zone and with them still needing to play relegation candidates such as Hoffenheim and Hertha Berlin a win would greatly relieve some of the tension.
Gladbach also needs a win as the dream of Europe is not completely out of the question, as over the next three games they play Wolfsburg, Eintracht Frankfurt and Union Berlin all teams ahead of them at the moment. Gladbach’s issue has been their lack of consistency and terrible away form. They have only won one game away from home all season while the likes of Marcus Thuram has not been as consistent in front of goal as he was before the World Cup with only two goals since the break.
In the meeting at Borussia Park earlier on in the season, Gladbach beat Köln 5-2 after a comfortable second-half performance from Gladbach.
GGFN | Jack Meenan
