Borussia Mönchengladbach vs. FC Köln preview: Who will prevail in the Rhine derby? | OneFootball

Gladbach

Gladbach may be languishing in the bottom three, but they should head into Saturday’s derby in high spirits after claiming their first Bundesliga win of the season in their recent away outing against St. Pauli. Haris Tabaković netted a first-half brace, before Shūto Machino and Oscar Fraulo found the net in a dominant 4-0 victory. 

Not only were Gladbach able to celebrate their first league win, but they also celebrated their first away clean sheet of the Bundesliga campaign. Buoyed by that success, Interim boss Eugen Polanski will now be hoping to guide Gladbach to their first home league victory of the 2025/26 season. 

However, that will be easier said than done for a team that have failed to win their last three meetings with Köln. Their last victory against their rivals took place in October 2022, when they produced a free-scoring display to clinch a 5-2 victory at Borussia-Park. A repeat of that result appears unlikely, though, as Gladbach have netted just four goals across their opening five league matches.

Team News

Gladach are unable to call upon Nathan Ngoumou, Fabio Chiarodia and Tim Kleindienst due to injury, while Jens Castrop is suspended. Meanwhile, Robin Hack is closing in on a return to action, although Saturday’s fixture will come too soon for the forward. 

Predicted lineup: Nicolas; Sander, Elvedi, Diks; Scally, Reitz, Engelhardt, Ullrich; Honorat, Neuhaus, Tabaković

FC Köln

Like the hosts, Köln will also head into the Rhine derby on the back of an emphatic victory. Last weekend, die Geißböcke cruised to a 4-1 win over nine-man Hamburger SV at the RheinEnergieStadion. Ragnar Ache and Florian Kainz both found the net before Jean-Luc Dompé pulled a goal back for HSV. However, Köln were given a massive boost when Hamburg saw two players quickly sent off. Said El Mala and Jakub Kamiński took advantage of the two dismissals, grabbing a goal apiece in stoppage time to seal all three points. 

Having collected 14 points from nine matches, Lukas Kwasniok’s side will head into the weekend in seventh position, leaving them four points adrift of the top four. While they may be eight points clear of their rivals, Köln’s recent away form suggests they will face a tough test on Saturday. Die Geißböcke have won just one of their last four road trips, including defeats in two of their previous three away outings. 

However, they may take confidence from the fact that they have lost just one of their last away matches against Gladbach. 

Team News

Kwasniok has confirmed that Jan Thielmann and Rav van den Berg will not be ready for the derby. Meanwhile, Timo Hübers and Luca Kilian are sidelined with knee injuries.

Predicted lineup: Schwäbe; Schmied, Martel, Özkacar; Sebulonsen, Jóhannesson, Huseinbašić, Lund; Kamiński, El Mala; Ache