<b>Bundesliga MD 22 Preview: Cologne against Bayern</b>
After last week’s highlight against Leipzig, Bayern had the opportunity to recoup in a week without a mid-week fixture. Now it is time to get back to business and use the upcoming matches against Cologne and Paderborn to pick up steam for the contest with Chelsea in the Champions League.13th place with six points above the relegation zone and in touching distance to a mid-table position – you would have been called mad predicting a development like this at Cologne just a few weeks ago. They were 17th after matchday 11 with three points adrift of safety. Two wins, one draw, and eight defeats was their devastating track record up to that point.Then came Markus Gisdol and Horst Heldt, two veterans very familiar with relegation battles. They both have seen their fair share of them over the long course of their careers. And indeed: A look at the Bundesliga table since Gisdol’s appointment sees Cologne in 5th place. So far, Gisdol has collected five wins, two draws, and only three defeats in 10 games. That adds up to 17 points, only five fewer than Bayern over the same period – with a game in hand (last weekend’s postponed fixture against Gladbach).So is Cologne against Bayern in truth a thriller in waiting? Not quite, because also under Gisdol Cologne have struggled against the top teams. Leipzig beat them 4-1 and Dortmund even managed to put five past them. However, especially at home Cologne has developed a certain degree of stability under Gisdol, which might prove the crucial difference in their quest to stay up. Since Gisdol has taken over, Cologne’s home record reads four wins, one draw, and no defeat, including a 2-0 win against Champions League hopefuls Leverkusen.<a href="https://miasanrot.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/5KOEFCB.jpg">Media</a><a href="#fc-cologne-en-route-to-staying-up"></a>FC Cologne en route to staying up?But how has Gisdol managed this turnaround? A key factor is that he first shored up the defense. Under Beierlorzer, Cologne pressed very aggressively at times and only allowed the opponent to play an average of nine passes in their own half before they took a defensive action. With Gisdol on the bench, this figure has risen to about eleven passes on average. In the ten matches under his tutelage so far, Cologne has conceded 15 goals, with nine of them falling in the games against Leipzig and Dortmund alone.StatsBomb’s expected goals model has measured 13.1 expected goals against in this period, and 8.1 in 8 games if the two extreme cases Leipzig and Dortmund are excluded. In the home game against Leverkusen, however, the team proved that it can also effectively suffocate strong offensive lines. Leverkusen only achieved 0.2 expected goals against Cologne.Under Beierlorzer, Cologne conceded 23 goals in eleven games with 16 expected goals against. His football also thrived on pressing, but his side often failed to fall back into their defensive shape quickly enough once the opponent overcame their first pressing line. Now, starting from a more compact and deeper defense, the team is expected to force turnovers by keeping the spaces in central midfield very tight. If they manage to win the ball this way, they usually push up their players quickly. With Mark Uth and Jhon Córdoba, they have two players who are currently in very good form. While Uth is very important in creating Cologne’s attacking game, especially because of his many space-opening runs, Córdoba is a reliable goal scorer, especially at home (7 goals in his last 6 home games).<a href="#how-can-cologne-trouble-bayern"></a>How can Cologne trouble Bayern?Against Bayern, Gisdol will most likely start his team in his favored 4-2-3-1 formation. Without the ball, Cologne defends with two narrow lines of four, with the midfield line sometimes even augmented to five. We will probably not see Cologne venture an all out attacking style in transition. Usually, they use three or four players to…
After last week’s highlight against Leipzig, Bayern had the opportunity to recoup in a week without a mid-week fixture. Now it is time to get back to business and use the upcoming matches against Cologne and Paderborn to pick up steam for the contest with Chelsea in the Champions League.13th place with six points above the relegation zone and in touching distance to a mid-table position – you would have been called mad predicting a development like this at Cologne just a few weeks ago. They were 17th after matchday 11 with three points adrift of safety. Two wins, one draw, and eight defeats was their devastating track record up to that point.Then came Markus Gisdol and Horst Heldt, two veterans very familiar with relegation battles. They both have seen their fair share of them over the long course of their careers. And indeed: A look at the Bundesliga table since Gisdol’s appointment sees Cologne in 5th place. So far, Gisdol has collected five wins, two draws, and only three defeats in 10 games. That adds up to 17 points, only five fewer than Bayern over the same period – with a game in hand (last weekend’s postponed fixture against Gladbach).So is Cologne against Bayern in truth a thriller in waiting? Not quite, because also under Gisdol Cologne have struggled against the top teams. Leipzig beat them 4-1 and Dortmund even managed to put five past them. However, especially at home Cologne has developed a certain degree of stability under Gisdol, which might prove the crucial difference in their quest to stay up. Since Gisdol has taken over, Cologne’s home record reads four wins, one draw, and no defeat, including a 2-0 win against Champions League hopefuls Leverkusen.<a href="https://miasanrot.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/02/5KOEFCB.jpg">Media</a><a href="#fc-cologne-en-route-to-staying-up"></a>FC Cologne en route to staying up?But how has Gisdol managed this turnaround? A key factor is that he first shored up the defense. Under Beierlorzer, Cologne pressed very aggressively at times and only allowed the opponent to play an average of nine passes in their own half before they took a defensive action. With Gisdol on the bench, this figure has risen to about eleven passes on average. In the ten matches under his tutelage so far, Cologne has conceded 15 goals, with nine of them falling in the games against Leipzig and Dortmund alone.StatsBomb’s expected goals model has measured 13.1 expected goals against in this period, and 8.1 in 8 games if the two extreme cases Leipzig and Dortmund are excluded. In the home game against Leverkusen, however, the team proved that it can also effectively suffocate strong offensive lines. Leverkusen only achieved 0.2 expected goals against Cologne.Under Beierlorzer, Cologne conceded 23 goals in eleven games with 16 expected goals against. His football also thrived on pressing, but his side often failed to fall back into their defensive shape quickly enough once the opponent overcame their first pressing line. Now, starting from a more compact and deeper defense, the team is expected to force turnovers by keeping the spaces in central midfield very tight. If they manage to win the ball this way, they usually push up their players quickly. With Mark Uth and Jhon Córdoba, they have two players who are currently in very good form. While Uth is very important in creating Cologne’s attacking game, especially because of his many space-opening runs, Córdoba is a reliable goal scorer, especially at home (7 goals in his last 6 home games).<a href="#how-can-cologne-trouble-bayern"></a>How can Cologne trouble Bayern?Against Bayern, Gisdol will most likely start his team in his favored 4-2-3-1 formation. Without the ball, Cologne defends with two narrow lines of four, with the midfield line sometimes even augmented to five. We will probably not see Cologne venture an all out attacking style in transition. Usually, they use three or four players to…
