Köln need to get themselves further from the relegation zone creeping as they prepare to welcome Frankfurt to a RheinEnergieStadion which hasn't seen much luck this season and will hope that changes against Frankfurt. The hosts have only won once at home all season, so stats suggest they face a tough task, but the Bundesliga is very unpredictable. Frankfurt are in fairly good form, having only lost once in their last five league games.
Peter Stöger doesn't have any injury problems after the Billy Goats' DFB Cup defeat to SC Freiburg, although he could opt to rotate a few players. Deyverson could replace Yuya Osako in attack after the Brazilian netted Köln's consolation at the Schwarzwald-Stadion on Tuesday night. Stöger could stick with the same, with the hope he would see a rection from the midweek defeat.
Nelson Valdez is back in training, but not yet ready to make his comeback from a serious knee injury, according to Frankfurt coach Thomas Schaaf. Valdez is still struggling with his stamina, having not played for a while. However, Peruvian defender Carlos Zambrano and Swiss striker Haris Seferovic are both back from suspensions.
Schaaf will be looking to the deadly duo of Seferovic and Alexander Meier to fire them to victory. Talking ahead of the game, Stöger said: "Frankfurt have a very dangerous attack, but they've not looked the strongest in defence at times and that's where we've got to get at them. We can expect a difficult challenge, but we're looking forward to it and want three points."
Frankfurt manager, Schaaf, said: "We don't just want to play one good game, we want two, three or more to follow. It's about putting a run together. This game's not going to be an easy one for us to control."
A win for Köln will see them move up to 11th, five points away from the relegation zone, while a win for Frankfurt will see them move up to seventh, four points from the top four.
Possible line-ups:
Köln: Horn - Olkowski, Maroh, Wimmer, Hector - Peszko, Vogt, Lehmann, Risse - Osako, Ujah
Frankfurt: Trapp - Chandler, Zambrano, Russ, Oczipka - Hasebe, Stendera - Aigner, Piazon - Seferovic, Meier