Borussia Dortmund and Koln meet in a Bundesliga clash at the RheinEnergieStadion on Saturday.
Dortmund are pushing to secure Champions League football, while Koln continue their battle to stay clear of the relegation places.
FC Koln vs Borussia Dortmund – Match preview and team news
- Date: Saturday, 7th March.
- Kick-off: 5:30pm BST.
- Venue: RheinEnergieStadion.
Koln team news
Koln remain without several players, with Denis Huseinbasuc still sidelined as he continues rehabilitation from a persistent hip problem that has limited him to just 45 minutes of action since early January.
Linton Maina, Timo Hubers, and Luca Kilian are all sidelined with their respective injuries with Hubers out for the whole season.
Jan Thielmann, Joel Schmied and Sebastian Sebulonsen are all suffering from muscle issues and are expected to remain out for another one or two weeks.
Borussia Dortmund team news
Dortmund arrive in Cologne dealing with a major blow after captain Emre Can was ruled out for the rest of the season with a torn cruciate ligament in his left knee, suffered during the defeat to Bayern Munich.
Coach Niko Kovac described the news as “a major setback for Emre and for us as a team”, while sporting director Sebastian Kehl admitted the club had lost “one of our most important leaders on and off the pitch”.
There are further defensive concerns, with centre-back Niklas Sule and defender Filippo Mane also ruled out until atleast mid March.
Carney Chukwuemeka recently missed the match against Bayern with a muscle issue and he is doubtful for this match as well.
Form
Koln
Koln’s recent run in all competitions makes for difficult reading, with just one win in their last six league outings and a damaging 2-0 defeat at Augsburg in their most recent Bundesliga fixture. That result left the Billy Goats 13th in the table on 24 points, still uncomfortably close to the relegation scrap and in need of points to avoid being dragged back towards the bottom three.
Borussia Dortmund
Dortmund’s overall form has been stronger, with just one defeat in their last 17 Bundesliga games, their only setback was their recent 3-2 home loss to Bayern Munich.
In fact Dortmund only lost twice in the season and both the losses came against Bayern Munich. Even with that setback, BVB sit second in the table on 52 points, 11 points behind league leaders Bayern and carrying significantly more momentum than their hosts.
The coach has challenged his players to “respond immediately” after setbacks this season, and a focused performance in Cologne would fit that narrative as Dortmund look to stay on Bayern’s tail.
Predicted lineups
FC Koln: Schwabe; Van den Berg, Simpson-Pusey, Ozkacar; Castro-Montes, Martel, Krauss, Lund; Kaminski, El Mala; Ache
Borussia Dortmund: Kobel; Reggiani, Anton, Schlotterbeck; Ryerson, Sabitzer, Nmecha, Svensson; Brandt, Silva, Beier
How to watch Koln vs Borussia Dortmund?
In the UK, FC Koln vs Borussia Dortmund on Saturday 7 March 2026 will be shown live on Sky Sports Football.
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