Heidenheim vs FC Koln prediction: GERMANY: Bundesliga betting tips on match 2024-05-17 13:30.
[p]Manager Frank Schmidt will be cheering on his Heidenheim side from his hospital bed, with an ankle operation meaning that he will miss their final game of the season. In his absence, assistant coach Bernhard Raab will take the reins, and he will attempt to round off the club’s debut Bundesliga campaign on a high by securing a place in the top half of the table, a position which many thought would be beyond them this term. [/p]
[p]It has already been an impressive season for the club, who were widely tipped to make an immediate return to the second tier following their promotion 12 months ago. A 1-1 draw at Freiburg last time out means that they’ve lost just one of their last seven outings (W2, D4), and as such Heidenheim head into this fixture in ninth place, although they could still drop as low as 12th should they fail to win here.[/p]
[p]Opponents Cologne will certainly be hoping for a slip-up, given that anything other than a victory here will consign the visitors to the 2. Bundesliga next season. Even that might not be enough to keep the Billy Goats up, as they also need Union Berlin – whom they beat 3-2 last weekend in the dying minutes to keep their slim survival hopes alive – to lose, while also likely requiring a four-goal swing in goal difference, just to secure the relative comfort of a relegation play-off place. [/p]
[p]That success against the Iron Ones was only a second in 13 matches for Timo Schultz’s side (D6, L5), so it’s perhaps no surprise that they head into the final round of fixtures in such a perilous position. They can perhaps draw inspiration from the class of 2020-21 though, who won their last match of the season to jump into the relegation play-off spot, before beating the drop by seeing off Holstein Kiel over two legs.[/p]
[p]Players to watch: Striker Tim Kleindienst, back from suspension, has scored his last nine goals for Heidenheim after half time. Cologne’s Florian Kainz has tasted defeat in just two of the last 39 games in which he’s netted – a run dating back an incredible ten years (W29, D8)! [/p]
[p]Hot stat: 12 of Heidenheim’s 16 home league games this season have seen both teams score, including each of the last six.[/p]