FC Cologne Vs VfB Stuttgart: Bundesliga Preview
After a 4-2 defeat at the hands of Kaiserslautern, Stuttgart coach Bruno Labbadia will be hoping that his side can return to winning ways when they travel to face FC Cologne at the RheineEnergie Stadion.
The Swabians are only two points away from the dreaded relegation zone, and with just five games left in the season, are potentially facing the drop. Last week, the Red Devils from Kaiserslautern ended Stuttgart’s unbeaten run of five games. Labbadia now
wants his side to get back to winning ways in the last few games of the season.
While talking to the media, Labbadia said that he analysed the mistakes his team made in last week’s defeat, and indicated that the players showed a lot of intensity in the training sessions. He said "We travel to Cologne wanting to put into practice what
we have worked on."
Labbadia added that if his side could beat Cologne tonight, the home team would slip deeper into a relegation scrap – a prospect that Cologne coach Frank Schafer wants to avoid. Last week, Cologne also suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of relegation-threatened
Borussia Moenchengladbach. They lost 5-1 in that game and Schafer said that his side were looking to make amends.
Cologne midfielder http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Martin-Lanig-c24405 spoke on the club’s official website about his side’s chances and talked about his side’s excellent home record. He said, “Of course we know how strong we are at home and we have won our last seven games here.”
Lanig also stressed the importance of this particular fixture and said that his side would be aiming to get all three points tonight.
Team News
Stuttgart tactician Bruno Labbadia will be hoping that midfielder Tamas Hajnal starts tonight's game. The Hungarian was out injured for three weeks but returned to full training this week. On the other hand, striker http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Pavel-Pogrebnyak-c29501 will miss the game due
to suspension, and German international http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Cacau-c8235 is likely to take his place.
Cacau is currently nursing an injury that requires him to undergo surgery and Labbadia praised the Brazilian born striker for his commitment. Labbadia said, “He has been doing extra shifts and, while an operation is unavoidable, Cacau is sacrificing himself
for the team and we hope that he can help us with his strengths.”
Meanwhile, Cologne coach Frank Schafer will be without the services of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Adam-Matuschyk-c3545, who are suspended for this game.
Players to watch
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Lukas-Podolski-c22896 – FC Cologne
The 25-year old German international has been the best player for Cologne this season. The left-footed striker has already got 12 goals and four assists to his name. Although he was largely invisible during the 5-1 hammering at the hands of Moenchengladbach,
he is a live wire in the opposition’s half and can create a lot of problems for defenders.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/VfB-Stuttgart-c40879
The 23-year-old Martin Harnik has been in sublime form for his club this term. With Stuttgart constantly switching positions in the bottom half of the table, Harnik has been Mr. Consistency for his side. Harnik has scored eight goals and an assist in 27
appearances this season. His form in tonight’s game and the next four games will be essential for Stuttgart to remain in the top-flight of German football next season.
Prediction
With both sides coming off the back of morale-crunching defeats, it will be natural if the players take a cautious approach towards tonight's game. A draw might be a fair result for both sides and could even help the two in the final furlong of the season.
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