Köln drops 3-0 to Stuttgart

Christoph Daum will be looking forward to seeing April come to an end as Köln lost its third straight match this month, losing 3-0 to Stuttgart. A sell-out crowd at RheinEnergieStadion saw die Geißböcke get off to a fast start with Milivoje Novakovič coming close to scoring only two minutes in before Ludovic Magnin cleared his header off the line. Still looking strong, Köln was creating the majority of attacking chances early but Stuttgart's finishing was perfect. At the sixteenth minute Mario Gómez scored the first of his three goals with a close-range header of Roberto Hilbert pin-point cross. Visibly dejected Köln, looked for the equalizer but as the match wore on Stuttgart grew comfortable in defending and taking advantage of the counter-attack. Ten minutes after the break Pedro Geromel was outplayed for the ball by Cacau and after a missed challenge by Derek Boateng the Brazilian crossed to Gómez for goal number two of the day. With nineteen minutes left Thomas Hitzlsperger set Sami Khedira free on a perfect through-ball and with Gómez running to his left, he fed him the ball to the strike as 'keeper Faryd Mondragón went to the ground for a simple finish.

Adler need points away from drop zone

Although there was many reasons for optimism with last weeks performance against Hertha BSC, die Adler are need points away from drop zone as they face Köln at the Waldstadion. Particularly the play of Alexander Meier and new man Nikola Petković formed a strong combination at times with Nikos Liberopoulos and Martin Fenin.

Of his tactics, Friedhelm Funkel is having a bit of fun in his pre-match press conference saying that he see's no reason to change the starting eleven, unless he thinks of a surprise. So effectively, there will be absolutely no changes, unless there is. Continuing along the same line he mentioned how there are few surprises for coaches but for journalists, plenty. However when asked of his thoughts of Köln, he admitting to having fond memories and maintains close ties to the area.

The biggest issue is whether Markus Pröll will be between the posts or Jan Zimmermann will handle the duties. Pröll was injured last week at the hour mark and the decision on who to start will come down to a pre-match fitness test although, Zimmermann seems most likely. Köln will be without young star Taner Yalcin and veteran defender Pierre Wome for the match.

Die Adler have a tough one to deal with in this match as Christoph Daum will play a tight defending and look to counter on weakness. They are likely to play well behind the ball and be patient not to extend.

Köln plays with pride

Köln's break was filled with the news of Lukas Podolski returning home however his arrival will need to wait till the summer as per the terms of the deal. While some have talked that survival is the main goal, Christoph Daum knows Geißböcke are capable of much more and zeroed in on climbing up the table, starting with Saturdays visit of Wolfsburg.

Upstart Wolfsburg is an unusual club and seem to be missing the intangible "team" factor before they can be in the top four of the league. The are powerful at home but still without a victory when traveling. Their lineup features Bosnian duo Edin Džeko and Zvjezdan Misimović in the attack along with Grafite that while one of the leagues most exciting have an unnerving habit of going to ground very quickly.

Christoph Daum will hand Sergiu Radu the striker role as the Milivoje Novakovič is suspended. Along with Pedro Geromel who is suspended and Pierre Wome out with an injury, Geißböcke defending will be challenged to the limit. In a strongly worded voice of support, Christoph Daum made it clear that eighteen year-old Taner Yalcin will be in the starting eleven.

Discipline and shape are key to defeating Wolfsburg and with a hard tackling led charge, points can be ours.