KOE Cologne Cologne - TSG Hoffenheim Hoffenheim

Sat, 29.08.202613:30 PM

RheinEnergieSTADION

Mensah praises El Mala

Mensah is expected to line up on the same side of the field as Saïd El Mala, and clearly has a lot of respect for his new teammate. "He's very good on the ball, one-on-one. He can go past three or four players. Nothing stops him, you know. That's the main quality that he has. At the end of the day, he's still a team player. He never plays alone. He makes sure that he's playing with the team."

Gideon Mensah: "We need to stay together as a team"

New Cologne signing has been speaking ahead of what will be his Bundesliga bow this weekend. "We need to stay together as a team, play together as a team, listen to the coaches and make sure that we don't leave anything on the field," he said. "We drop everything there and then give everything to the supporters as well."

Christian Ilzer on facing Cologne

"It's a challenge for any team to play in Cologne. They have speed and a target man in Ragner Ache. Their cup game showed they can come back amid adversity. The greatest opponent is the player in us who thinks we can rest on our fifth-place finish. That won't help us. We need to prove ourselves again."

René Wagner on facing Hoffenheim

"We want to show at home what we're about. We're excited about a full stadium and lots of energy. I think we'll find the right means to hurt Hoffenheim. They're a very intense team. They're well drilled and have strengthened over the summer. They're a step further in their idea than last year."

Predicted line-up: TSG Hoffenheim

Predicted Formation:4-3-3

The confirmed starting line-up will be published around 60 minutes before kick-off.

Predicted line-up: 1. FC Köln

Predicted Formation:4-2-3-1

The confirmed starting line-up will be published around 60 minutes before kick-off.

Last time out - Cologne

Cologne had to battle all the way to win their DFB Cup first-round clash at Würzburger Kickers, coming back from 1-0 down at the break to win 2-1 thanks to a brace from Ísak Jóhannesson.

Kramarić treble

This is the second Matchday 1 meeting between these two sides, who also locked horns on the opening weekend of the 2020/21 campaign. The Sinsheim outfit triumphed 3-2 on that occasion, with Andrej Kramarić scoring a hat-trick.

Last time out - Hoffenheim

Goals from Patrick Wimmer (x2), Wouter Burger and Max Moerstedt secured Hoffenheim a comfortable 4-0 victory against Erzgebirge Aue in the DFB Cup first round.

2:03

Watch: Cologne 2-2 Hoffenheim - previous meeting

Ragnar Ache scored the Goal of the Season as the Billy Goats held Hoffenheim to a draw on Matchday 23 last term.

Tight contest in store?

Cologne and Hoffenheim have met 33 times in the Bundesliga, with the Billy Goats winning 10 to Hoffenheim's 14. Two of their last three match-ups have ended in a draw.

Hello and welcome!

Welcome along and thanks for joining us for build-up and live coverage of this Matchday 1 fixture between Cologne and Hoffenheim.

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