FC Augsburg won 2-0 in the first half of the season in Cologne last year. (Photo: Bucco)
It is well known that the 1. FC Köln has serious staffing problems. But the next opponent also goes to the game in Müngersdorf with great personal worries. FC Augsburg have to do without much of their defense: four central defenders and the first goalkeeper are out. The two scorers from last year are missing.
Steffen Baumgart on Sunday will be able to fall back on several players who will go to the match against FC Augsburg well rested: Mark Uth and Ondrej Duda have not played at all for FK Partizan, and Kingsley Schindler and Luca Kilian have not been used at all. Linton Maina played only 25 minutes, Denis Huseinbasic a quarter of an hour.
It is entirely possible that this quintet is in the starting lineup against FCA on Sunday. Maina and Huseinbasic could take control of the two wings because Florian Kainz and Dejan Ljubicic are missing. Ondrej Duda would move back to his usual ten-man position, while Uth would be an option as a second striker alongside Steffen Tigges, who also played only 45 minutes in Belgrade.
FC are booked against Augsburg
Schindler and Kilian could play for Schmitz and Soldo on the defensive. And already, in addition to the supports Schwäbe, Hübers, Hector and Skhiri, the eleven owners have already been found. Will it really be that easy? It remains to be seen. Because coach Steffen Baumgart is tasked with finding the best possible line-up against one of the most unsavory teams in the league.
FC Augsburg have already won at Leverkusen, Bremen and Schalke this season, so FCA celebrated three of the four away wins of the season. In addition, the home win against FC Bayern and, more recently, a points win against VfL Wolfsburg. The Fuggerstädter have made an excellent start to the season under new manager Enrico Maaßen and are Cologne’s neighbors in the league with the same number of points.
The goalkeeper and the central defense are completely missing
But now FC Augsburg have also been impressed by their personal club, and rightfully so. Sarenren Bazee and former Cologne player Strobl have long been sidelined with cruciate ligament injuries. The long absence of André Hahn, who scored in the Billy Goats 0-2 goal against FCA last season, also weighs on the offensive. The second goal was scored by midfield vacuum cleaner Niklas Dorsch – and he too is injured for a longer period of time.
The short-term failure of the defensive center weighs heavily: the two central defenders Uduokhai and Oxford are injured. The other two central defenders, Bauer and captain Gouweleeuw, are also now suspended: both have received a fifth yellow card against Wolfsburg. To make matters worse, regular goalkeeper Gikiewicz also signed through injury and is out. Many failures in FCA: a chance for the goats?
Which Injured Boxer Is More Dangerous?
It will depend on how FC have pocketed their third consecutive defeat. In the league, Cologne’s statistics continue to read convincingly: after the national break there was a 3-2 win against Borussia Dortmund before the Mönchengladbach derby was lost 2-5 to a yellow card -red against Florian Kainz. However, the FC had persuaded until the dismissal. On the other hand, the two failures against Belgrade weigh heavily, also because there have been other failures since then. So on Sunday they meet two battered boxers. The question is: who is more dangerous in this situation?
