FC Koln vs Schalke prediction: GERMANY: Bundesliga betting tips on match 2022-08-06 15:30.
An expletive was used by Cologne’s Managing Director Christian Keller to describe their first round exit from Germany’s national cup to his former club Jahn Regensburg in late July. That disastrous result was compounded further by a pelvis injury to star striker Anthony Modeste which threatened to rule him out of their opening round clash with Bundesliga returnees Schalke.
As one of just two clubs (alongside Leipzig) to concede 20 or fewer first-half goals last Bundesliga season, falling to an early 0-2 deficit against their second-tier opposition was an uncharacteristic start for Cologne. Still, boss Steffen Baumgart ought to be confident of opening the season with a strong home victory – as they did last season – after winning at home to both newly promoted clubs in 2021/22.
There were no such issues last weekend for last season’s second-tier champions Schalke, who matched their biggest DFB-Pokal win of the last decade with a 5-0 demolition of lower-tier club Bremer. Schalke will hope for a sense of continuity as they transition back into the top-flight, with interim manager Mike Büskens returning to an assisting role, making way for experienced German icon Frank Kramer.
As the most prolific scorers of the previous Bundesliga 2, Kramer has looked to bolster his defence with the additions of Maya Yoshida and CĂ©dric Brunner, who are both in line for a start. Kramer will undoubtedly hope his new defensive duo can help dramatically improve upon Schalke’s 2.53 goals conceded per league game in 2019/20 – which came perilously close to including the longest winless streak in Bundesliga football.
Players to watch: Returning to the Bundesliga from Belgium, Cologne’s Sargis Adamyan has seen all eight of his German top-flight goals arrive after half-time. Meanwhile, six of the nine Bundesliga games in which new Schalke striker Sebastian Polter scored for Bochum last season resulted in victory.
Hot stat: Only Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund had a better win rate as pre-match favourites at home than Cologne’s 73% (W8, D1, L2) last Bundesliga season.