After showing moments of promise against the likely title winners last time out, Furth will be hoping for a better result when they host FC Koln at Sportpark Ronhof Thomas Sommer on Saturday afternoon.
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Bookmaker Ratings prediction one: Draw No Bet – Greuther Furth – 2.62
Bookmaker Ratings prediction two: Team Goals – Greuther Furth to Score Over 1.5 Goals – 2.62
Greuther Furth Draw No Bet
The hosts remain in a position of peril but there have been real signs of life from Stefan Leitl’s men, so much so that they stand out as a value option at the prices, at least with the insurance that ‘Draw No Bet’ provides. Not only are the hosts unbeaten in five, but they’ve conceded just three goals in their last five at home, conceding no more than a single goal at any point during that run. Such a defensive record bodes well, especially when the visitors have been conceding with regularity on the road, and it’s the extra defensive nous that Furth have found that could make all the difference here.
Greuther Furth to Score Over 1.5 Goals
The relegation scrappers have also found something of a scoring touch in recent weeks. They notched against Bayern last time out, while they’ve scored two or more in each of their last two at this venue, as well as in three of their last five overall. Against a Koln side that has conceded two or more in three of the last four on the road, the hosts are backed to get amongst the goals on Saturday afternoon.
After picking up their second win in three matches, bottom-of-the-pile Furth would’ve travelled to Allianz Arena with renewed confidence, and it must be said, such confidence shone through as they made a positive start against the champions, fighting hard in the early stages, scoring the opening goal of the game after 42 minutes. OK, they went on to eventually be outclassed, but few teams have held a half-time lead away at Bayern in recent times, so it’s unlikely that the team fighting for survival lost any belief in defeat.
Last time out at this venue, we got to see what this Furth side can offer. They were lively, dogged and showed moments of real promise in the final third, especially when talisman Branimir Hrgota was involved. Moreover, Saturday’s hosts have now gone five home matches without tasting defeat, three of which they’ve won. After victories against both Berlin clubs and Mainz, Stefan Leitl’s men ought to fancy their chances here.
As for the visitors, well, they too enjoyed themselves last time out, though unlike Furth, walked away with something to show for their efforts. That something was all three points courtesy of 1-0 victory against Frankfurt. The boys from Cologne have now won two of their last three, losing just one of their last five. Quietly sound form.
Things haven’t been too bad on the road either. Steffen Baumgart’s men weren’t disgraced when losing away at Leipzig last time out, a loss that was their first in six away matches. If they could tighten up defensively, then a push for European football would be seriously on the cards. The visitors are without an away-day clean sheet this season.
The ‘safest’ option here must be ‘Both Teams to Score’. As touched on above, the visitors are without a clean sheet on the road this season. Both teams have scored in each of their last six way matches. Both teams have scored in each of Furth’s last five in Bundesliga.
Marius Funk and Gideon Jung are both still injured for the hosts, as is Robin Luca Kehr, who has been out since late 2021. The visitors are without injury concerns at present.
Greuther Furth: Linde, Meyerhofer, Griesbeck, Viergever, Itter, Christiansen, Seguin, Tillman, Dudziak, Leweling, Hrgota.
FC Koln: Horn, Schmitz, Kilian, Hubers, Hector, Skhiri, Ozcan, Ljubicic, Uth, Kainz, Andersson.
Branimir Hrgota
Central to everything that’s good about Furth’s attacking play, Branimir Hrgota is the one to watch here. The Swede added to his goal tally last time out, and he now has eight Bundesliga goals for the season, an impressive total given that he’s plying his trade for the team currently bottom of the league.
Earlier this season, FC Koln beat Greuther Furth by three goals to one at RheinEnergieStadion.
This match will be played at Sportpark Ronhof Thomas Sommer.
We recommend checking out both William Hill and Vbet ahead of this fixture.