When Peter Stöger takes his 1. FC Köln side to the Allianz Arena to face Bayern Munich on Friday night, he will be wary of the German champions' propensity of late to really turn the screw on their opponents.
"We have to be at our level each game"
- Pep Guardiola
Pep Guardiola's side have scored 14 goals in their last two Bundesliga fixtures, winning 8-0 and 6-0 against Hamburger SV and Paderborn respectively. The manager has cautioned his side not to expect another rout on Friday, however, instead insisting that Bayern take each game as it comes. "I have huge respect for every opponent," he said. "We have to be at our level each game. It is not important who the opponent is and which competition it is. Cologne are the second best away team after us. We have to be careful, but we have improved and our defence does not allow many chances."
Does hammering 14 goals past sub-standard, relegation-threatened opposition really tell us anything? Bayern were held to a 0-0 draw against Shakhtar in the first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie and by their own lofty standards have struggled since the turn of the year, not managing to string together two consecutive victories. Guardiola is right to err on the side of caution, despite their eight-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga table and recent emphatic results; Köln have stifled good sides this season, and will prove a challenge for Guardiola's men. How they respond remains to be seen.
"Every couple of years there is a miracle"
- Peter Stöger
For Köln boss Stöger, his side enter the game with zero expectations. Indeed, Stöger described the need for a "miracle" when his side travel to the Allianz Arena on Friday night. "But every couple of years there is a miracle," Stoeger told Cologne-based newspaper Express. "We've already see a few different attempts (to beat Bayern) which didn`t work. They take every chance they get and if that works too against us, it's hard to survive. Expect Köln to keep it tight and break the play up, Stöger admitting that their "task is to make sure the game is no fun for them."
Stöger may be understating his side's chances, but the statistics give them more of a fair shot at upsetting the apple cart. They are the second best away side in the Bundesliga - behind Bayern - winning five of 11 games on the road. However, Köln will be wary of their perilous position in the league, just three points above the relegation zone in tightly-packed bottom-half of the table. Köln should take heart from their record at the Allianz Arena, though, as in their last six away visits to Bayern they have lost just once - 3-0 in December 2011. Stöger may be right when he calls for a miracle on Friday night, but stranger things have happened.