Vfl Wolfsburg v FC Koln
Football ; Germany : Bundesliga
Volkswagen Arena
Sunday,24th April 2011 – kickoff 15:30

Vfl Wolfsburg

Vfl Wolfsburg were held to 2-2 draw last weekend against St.Pauli and now even if they win all of their remaining four matches, their future in the Bundesliga will still be uncertain as they depend on the results of the other teams from the bottom as well.

Since coach Felix Magath took over Vfl Wolfsburg a month ago, the team had had three draws (against Vfb Stuttgart, Eintracht Frankfurt and St. Pauli) and one loss (against Schalke 04), so Vfl Wolfsburg are desperately seeking a win and three points from this match.

Vfl Wolfsburg`s Bundesliga campaign this season reminds me of Hertha Berlin, when they had one great season and played in the Champions League and the following season they dropped out in the 2.Bundesliga.

It is really strange how this team packed with great individuals and many expensive players, very good coach and a stable sponsor simply can not deliver a win and are constantly underperforming. In the past week even the Vfl Wolfsburg`s supervisory board chairmen and main sponsor Volkswagen had spoke and demanded from the players a better approach and asked them to give something back to the fans and to the directors who had been extremely generous towards them this season and in the past seasons as well. So now Vfl Wolfsburg are under big pressure to win in the remaining matches and to keep their Bundesliga status.

The formation should be the same from last week with Grafite and Mandzukic playing as strikers and Diego as a playmaker behind them. Also another option in the attack is Patrick Helmes, but he might enter later on in the match as a substitute.

Probable Vfl Wolfsburg line-up :
Benaglio,
Riether, Kjaer, A. Friedrich, M. Schafer,
Josue,
Polak, Cicero,
Diego,
Grafite, Mandzukic

FC Koln

FC Koln are having very good second part of the season and are now six points above the relegation zone, but still need two wins or maybe at least four points in the remaining four matches to be completely safe in the league.

During the last week, the head coach Frank Schaefer had announced his resignation as FC Koln head coach as soon as this season ends citing personal reasons for that decision, so it will be interesting to see how the team will react to that.

There will be also changes in the formation for this match as few players are suspended or injured. The midfielder Slawomir Peszko had torn his knee ligaments in the last match against VfB Stuttgart, so he will pause in the following weeks.

Also the creative midfielder Petit is out of the team as he had to return in his homeland Portugal due to some personal reasons, so Mato Jajalo will take his position in the midfield.

Adam Matuschyk will be back in the defensive midfield after serving one match suspension for five yellow cards, but for the same reasons Lucas Podolski is not available and needs to sit out this match. Sebastian Freus will play at his position.

In the attack, Milivoje Novakovic will be the only striker and he has been simply great this season having scored 14 goals for his team, which ranks him fourth in that category in the Bundesliga.

Probable FC Koln line-up :
Rensing,
Brecko, Geromel, Mohamad, Eichner,
Lanig, Matuschyk,
Freis, Jajalo, Clemens,
Novakovic

The Betting Verdict

The first match played in Koln between these teams this season had ended in 1-1 draw. The overall record is on Vfl Wolfsburg side as they have seven wins, five draws and three losses against FC Koln.

I think that Vfl Wolfsburg will record their first victory under coach Magath after four winless games, but that victory might come too little too late for the hosts who are probably headed towards the 2.Bundesliga, or if they are lucky, in the relegation play off spot.

FC Koln are a good team, but they play better at home than away, and having on mind their couple of absentees who are very important to the team, i think that they will lose this match against the under pressure team of Vfl Wolfsburg. I would go for the three points to stay in Wolfsburg.

The Statistics :

The Pick :

Vfl Wolfsburg-FC Koln 2-1

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

Take the Home win for Vfl Wolfsburg for a price of 1.70 at Interwetten