Will Steffen Baumgart bring Jan Thielmann back from the start on Saturday? (Photo: Bucco)
1. FC Köln can draw almost on full against VfL Wolfsburg on Saturday afternoon. Ondrej Duda after suspension and Salih Özcan after yellow card suspension return to the squad. But that also puts the FC coach before an important decision.
While Steffen Baumgart had mostly made no secret of his line-ups two days before the game in the past few weeks, the coach anticipated the possible question on Thursday: “I’m not one hundred percent sure how I’m going to play”. The reason for this is possibly the best performance of the season in the 4-1 win against FC Augsburg with the imminent return of Salih Özcan after his yellow card suspension.
Training sessions suggest double sixes
“We may stay with the winning eleven,” explained the coach. But Baumgart also knows that Salih Özcan has proven to be an indispensable factor in the Cologne game in recent months and is pushing back into the starting XI. “He has done very, very well in the last few months,” emphasized the 50-year-old.
Baumgart will have to decide on Saturday whether to let Jan Thielmann and Anthony Modeste play as a double at the top, as against Augsburg, or return to the double six. During the week, at least, the training sessions increasingly pointed to Ellyes Skhiri and Salih Özcan on the six. However, Baumgart should find it difficult to put Thielmann back on the bench after his two goals and the assist in the last two games.
We can all look forward to seeing his development continue over the next year
Stephen Baumgart
The FC coach revealed on Thursday how big the pieces are that FC hold on the young offensive player. “Jan is 19 years old and has now played over 50 Bundesliga games. He’s a really good player,” Baumgart said in praise of his protégé. If Thielmann hadn’t been slowed down by two illnesses at the beginning of the season, the 19-year-old would certainly have started more games this season.
For the coming season, the Geißbockheim promises another jump for the youngster. “We assume he will stay with us. He will become a very important player for us and will get even more appearances from the start next year. I like how he works every day. We can all look forward to this trend continuing next year.”
Bornauw is missing against ex-club
However, it could be that Thielmann will be used again as a joker in the last home game on Saturday. With the exception of Marvin Obuz (ligament injury) and Tomas Ostrak (muscular injury), for whom the season ended prematurely, and Sebastian Andersson, who is expected to return to team training next week, the entire squad is available to Steffen Baumgart. Dejan Ljubicic, who had to end Wednesday’s session early after being hit in the shin, will also be able to play normally on Saturday. In addition, Ondrej Duda is returning to the squad after his suspension, but the Slovak is not a candidate for the first eleven.
However, there will be no reunion in Müngersdorf with the player to whom FC owes the current Bundesliga season. Sebastiaan Bornauw, who scored the winning goal in the decisive 1-0 win over FC Schalke a year ago, will miss the game with his former club due to a back injury.
This is how FC could play: Schwäbe – Schmitz, Kilian, Hübers, Hector – Özcan, Skhiri – Ljubicic, Uth, Kainz – Modeste
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