FC Cologne vs 1. FC Union Berlin Prediction, Odds, Best Bets - Bundesliga

Five days after FC Cologne won 5-0 at home against 1. FC Union Berlin in the German Cup, the two clubs meet again on Sunday, this time at Stadion An der Alten Försterei in the Bundesliga. Cologne are twelfth and still looking for a first league win away from home. Union Berlin are seventeenth with one league win all season, and they owe their own crowd a response.

The Matchup

The cup match on Tuesday was close for half an hour and a rout after it. Said El Mala put Cologne ahead at 32 minutes, Linton Maina scored just after half time, El Mala scored again on the hour, and Ísak Jóhannesson and Sebastian Sebulonsen added late goals in a 5-0 win.

El Mala and Maina had both started the goalless league draw with Schalke 04 three days earlier, so the front line that took Union apart in midweek is the one expected to lead Cologne again in Berlin. El Mala has taken 26 shots this season, more than twice the total of any teammate, and Maina has a league goal and 2 assists alongside his cup goal.

Union's league season has been a grind at both ends. They are seventeenth at 1-3-3, they have scored 6 goals in seven matches, and they have conceded 18, with only Borussia Mönchengladbach, who have shipped 22, letting in more.

Tim Skarke is their top scorer with 2 goals, and Frederik Ronnow has already made 26 saves, a fair measure of how much traffic reaches Union's goal. The one place Union have held together is this ground: Eintracht Frankfurt drew 3-3 here in August, Schalke 04 won 3-1, SV Elversberg were beaten 1-0, and Borussia Dortmund were held 0-0 on October 17.

Neither club has named its side yet. The expectation is Cologne close to the side that started against Schalke and in the cup, Marvin Schwäbe in goal with El Mala and Maina carrying the threat, and Union keeping the shape from their 1-1 draw at FC Augsburg, Ronnow in goal, Tom Rothe and Janik Haberer at full back, and Skarke and Jeong Woo-Yeong leading what threat Union have.

Cologne travel without two players: Thijs Dallinga, a joint top scorer with 2 league goals, is out with a knee injury, and defender Timo Hübers is also out with a knee injury. Ragnar Ache is a doubt with a muscular problem.

Key Factors

The rematch is the whole story of this match. Union do not need a scouting report on Cologne's front line; they chased it for ninety minutes on Tuesday, and four of Cologne's five goals came after half time, when Union's shape fell apart.

The natural response is caution, and Union's recent league form points the same way: a 1-0 win over SV Elversberg, a 0-0 draw with Borussia Dortmund, and a 1-1 draw at FC Augsburg across their last three league matches. They have steadied themselves in the league, and a tight, angry afternoon at the Alte Försterei is the performance Union's crowd will demand.

Cologne's own record carries the warning. The cup rout happened at home, and in the league they have lost all three of their away matches this season, 4-1 at VfB Stuttgart, 2-1 at Hamburg SV, and 1-0 at Eintracht Frankfurt.

They have scored 8 league goals in seven matches, Dallinga's absence takes a scorer out of the squad, and Union's ground is the kind of place where a visiting side can be dragged into a midfield scrap and starved of service. What beats this pick is a Union win, and the likeliest version of it is not a statement performance. It is a set piece, a deflection, and a 1-0 home win that makes Tuesday look like the exception.

Every pick is published with its line before the game. Odds via consensus sportsbooks at time of writing and move constantly. Must be 21+. If gambling is a problem, call or text 1-800-GAMBLER.