Title Could Be Decided This Weekend As FC Koln Face Mainz 05 In The Struggle Against Relegation

Bundesliga

Sat 07 Apr, 2018

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The Bundesliga title could be decided this weekend if Bayern Munich can win away at Augsburg this Saturday. The title race may be coming to an end, but there's still a lot to play for in the final six games of the season with six teams fighting for the remaining three Champions League spots.

Coming from a 6-0 humiliation of Borussia Dortmund, there is less to look-out for about the Bavarians route to the 6^th consecutive and a historic 27^th title. Attention will ultimately shift to Schalke, BVB, Leipzig, Leverkusen and Frankfurt for the remaining six games.

Consistency will be the only way to beat the odds to the 2018/19 Champions League, that assumes automatic qualification for the top four as its new format.

Monday Night football is back this weekend after a period of three weeks. Interestingly, it is the most hated side in German football, RB Leipzig, that makes the callback to this controversial match-day featuring for the second time, with the last ending in chaos away at Frankfurt.

Certainly, for the right reason, RB Leipzig get to play Bayer Leverkusen this Monday after taking part in the Europa League where they emerged 1-0 winners over Marseille.

The hard-earned 3-2 victory over Hannover 96 last week was enough to propel Die Bullen back into top four. With just seven games to go, it remains to be seen if they can handle the load of Domestic and European football for their first time.

Now, away from the floating-end and into the struggle for survival as relegation threatened 1. FC Köln take on fellow strugglers, 1.FSV Mainz.

FC Köln v 1.FSV Mainz 05 - Live on Sanyuka TV and Sports Focus – StarTimes.

Local Time: 04:30 PM

The fight against relegation continues as Koln face Mainz 05 this Saturday afternoon. Getty Images.

Forget the fight for the title as it all looks done and dusted, the real game will be at the RheinEnergieStadion on Saturday when two struggling sides, 1. FC Koln and Mainz 05 face-off in a genuine relegation battle.

Koln have had some breathtaking results in the bid to survive the drop, managing to win over the likes of RB Leipzig and Bayer Leverkusen. But, all the efforts were brought to a sudden halt, when they fell to a 6-0 loss at Hoffenheim last weekend.

The result left them drained of confidence, but, going against opponents in a similar zone on the log could get them back on track if they can half that 6-point gap.

Stefan Ruthenbeck’s men face a side that is badly struggling to find the back of the net and have actually failed to score in four consecutive games. On the road, Mainz have managed to win one game in their last seven, losing the most, five.

Timo Horn will have to be an instrumental player in the relegation battle against Mainz. Getty images.

Both sides are coming off bad weekends, but 05s are better compared to their hosts, conceding half of TSG’s six versus Koln, at Frankfurt.

French forward, Sehrou Guirassy and defender João Queirós may miss out tomorrow as they are still nursing ankle and neck injuries respectively.

Meanwhile, Robin Zentner and Niko Bungert could also miss out on Mainz’s side.

It’s a game to be decided by mental toughness and manager Sandro Schwarz will have to draw a better picture against Koln. Expect this to be a hard-fought and competitive game but It won’t be a high-scoring contest at all due to its importance.

Probable line-ups

Koln: 3-4-3

Timo Horn; Jorge Mere - Frederik Sörensen - Dominique Heintz; Marcel Risse - Marco Höger - Vincent Koziello - Jonas Hector (c); Yuya Osako - Simon Terodde - Claudio Pizarro

Coach: Stefan Ruthenbeck

Mainz: 4-3-3

René Adler; Giulio Donati - Stefan Bell (c) - Alexander Hack - Daniel Brosinski; Suat Serdar - Jean-Philippe Gbamin - Danny Latza; Levin Öztunali - De Blasis - Emil Berggreen

Coach: Sandro Schwarz

Match stats as per Bundesliga.com

If Koln win they could reduce the gap to 16th place to just three points – the closest they have been to a non-automatic relegation spot since Matchday 6.

Veteran striker Claudio Pizarro has had a direct hand in two goals this season (one goal, one assist) – but Koln still lost both of those games.

Mainz have not scored in their last four Bundesliga outings (D2, L2). Yoshinori Muto was the last player to find the net for the club, securing a 1-1 draw against Wolfsburg on Matchday 24.

The Billy Goats' 6-0 defeat to Hoffenheim last week was their biggest loss in the league since losing away to Bremen by the same scoreline in the 2005/06 season.

Mainz's Daniel Brosinski – who used to play for Koln – scored the only goal of the game from a free-kick when the sides met on Matchday 12 this season.