Both clubs have seen their respective campaigns overshadowed by the fame and failure of those around them, but neither side will be backing down in what promises to be a intriguing tie at the Westfalenstadion, 14:30 GMT.
Form
Last week's disappointing defeat was the final nail in the coffin for Borussia Dortmund's slim title chances. A single Eintracht Frankfurt goal was enough to gift Bayern Munich their their fourth successive Meisterschale.
The very same match was decided on fine margins after Mats Hummels saw an effort hit the post and another calamitously ruled for offside as Stefan Aigner's strike brought hope to the home side's bid for survival.
However, this comes off of a resounding 5-1 demolition over last season's runners-up, VfL Wolfsburg, thus maintaining the integrity of the strong, undefeated home record — the best in the Bundesliga.
The defeat at the Commerzbank Arena comes off a long, unbeaten run of 15 league games — which coincidentally started after a defeat at the RheinEnergieStadion.
Over in the beautiful city of 1. FC Köln, the Billygoats have partaken in yet another consistent season bettering the ghosts of last year and sit in a lofty ninth place with the possibility of going one better, depending on whether VfB Stuttgart decide to turn up against the Wolves.
Peter Stöger's side will undoubtedly have a spring in their step, despite going into this match as underdogs. Impressive wins over 1. FSV Mainz 05 and Darmstadt have been coolled by disappointing, goalless draws to relegation-fighting FC Augsburg and Werder Bremen.
Short and sweet, history favours die Borussen. In light of their respectable, recent head-to-head record, in which the two played out to a stalemate in this fixture last season, Köln have not won in Dortmund for over 25 years. Just let that statistic sink in.
Squad sitrep
After serving his suspension last week, young, holding midfielder Julian Weigl is back in contention, but swaps places with assist maestro Henrikh Mkhitaryan who has accumulated too many yellow cards after last week.
İlkay Gündoğan and Neven Subotić remain out with long-term injuries with Joo-Ho Park also unavailable. Youngsters Felix Passlack and Christian Pulisic will remain with the U19s for their cup run.
Manager Thomas Tuchel has admitted he will name a strong side, regardless of the looming DFB-Pokalfinale next Saturday.
As for the travelling side, things are a significantly less strained as Frederik Sørensen remains the only player left behind, as a result of suspension.